Lacrymosa
by Smexi-MnM's
Summary: Teenage technician Stell and medical transfer Angel get more than they bargained for on the U.S.S. Enterprise. One must face her dark past as an Augment - and the monster she is capable of becoming. The other struggles with her loyalties between her crew and her overbearing father, while fighting feelings for a certain captain. Chekov/OC; Jim/OC
1. New Recruits

**Chapter One: New Recruits**

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**A/N: Hey everyone, this is just the first chapter in a Star Trek fic that we came up with just after watching the movie. Hopefully you enjoy the first chapter. Let us know what you think!**

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Angelique Blackmore glances around as she walked into the small and shady looking bar. She was wearing a tight and short black dress that hung to her slim form, as well as wearing black high heels. Her brown hair was hanging down around her shoulders, framing her face. She scanned the bar with her dark brown eyes, looking for her brother, Joshua, who was meant to be meeting her.

When she didn't spot him, Angel made her way towards the bar, aware of the various people who were watching her. She didn't enjoy being the centre of attention, especially when it came to men. As she reached the bar, she ordered herself a cocktail before leaning against the bar. She couldn't help but self-consciously tug her dress up so it revealed less cleavage.

She smiled at the bartender, thanking him, as he handed her the drink she had ordered. It was a bright blue hue and tasted of blueberries as she sipped it. She sat down at the bar, surveying the room again, hoping that her older brother would turn up soon. She hated waiting for people, especially when they were consistently late like her brother was every time they met.

"Hey." Angel looked to her right as a blonde-haired man spoke to her, his blue eyes raking over her in an almost predatory way.

Angel inclined her head in his direction slightly. "Hi."

"You come here often?" The man asked, turning so his body was facing her, not just his head.

"More then I would like to admit." Angel told him as she leant against the bar. This was often where she met Joshua when she was on leave. "What about you?"

The man shrugged, taking a swig of his drink. "Whenever I'm depressed."

Angel nodded, glancing at the bright blue drink in her hand before quickly downing the rest of it in a few gulps. She was aware of the mans eyes on her as she finished it. She ignored his stare, choosing her attention to her watch. Her brother was late, as always.

The man raised his eyebrows. "Do I bore you, miss...?"

"Blackmore. Angelique Blackmore." Angel introduced herself, shaking his hand.

The man grinned, gripping her hand firmly as he shook it. "Pretty. I'm Jim Kirk."

"Pleasure to meet you, Jim." Angel smiled, looking over him, noticing he emanated an aura of arrogance.

Jim finished his drink, ordering another. "I was a captain actually, but not anymore..."

Angel raised an eyebrow, unable to help her curiosity. "What happened? If you don't mind me asking."

Jim shrugged, raking a hand through his hair. "I rescued a friend and violated the Prime Directive. What about you, Angelique? What do you do?"

"I'm training to be a medic. Nothing fancy really." Angel couldn't help but flush a little. She felt so useless compared to most other people on the ship.

"Nice, any specific company?" Jim leant back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm Starfleet, like you. I just transferred onto the USS Enterprise from my father's ship." Angel explained, ordering herself another drink as she glanced around again to see that her brother was still yet to show up.

Jim grinned at her. "That's where I was before."

"Small world." Angel mused, sipping her new drink as the bartender gave it to her.

"It is at that." Jim agreed, watching her carefully.

* * *

Estelliana Crux sat patiently with her hands clasped in her lap as Admiral Marcus spoke to his comrade, Admiral Pike. It had been a mere month since the seventeen-year-old had completed her training at the Starfleet Academy, and already Admiral Marcus seemed determined to find her placement aboard one of the ships. She was very young, one of the youngest members of Starfleet in history – but Admiral Marcus assured her that with her academic record, finding her recruitment would be no problem.

Stell rubbed at her temples, feeling an oncoming headache. Ever since the car accident she and her mother Melina had been involved in three years ago, she had the tendency to get minor headaches when she was stressed. From time to time these progressed to migraines, but the medical officers at the Academy said it was nothing to worry about. The severity and quantity of headaches had reduced over time, and soon enough, they wouldn't be there at all. Stell missed her mum, who she hadn't seen since the accident. Stell's decision to join Starfleet had come just after she'd recovered.

"By the way, I was wondering if you have space for a new member aboard the _Enterprise_," Admiral Marcus stated, glancing over at Stell. The onyx-haired girl had been made aware of the possibility of her recruitment underneath Admiral Pike, and if the Admiral didn't have the space, she knew Marcus would assign her to a different ship.

"We've just received a few new members," Pike said thoughtfully. "I don't think one more would make a difference."

"This is Estelliana Crux." Marcus's tone was proud as he gestured to the girl sitting in the chair. Pike thought she looked very young. She watched them with dark, jade-green eyes. "She just graduated from the Academy. Top of her class, honours student. She's only seventeen."

Stell pushed herself to her feet. "Admiral Pike."

"What's your specialty?" Pike inquired, examining the girl closely. She was human, but there was a sort of solemn maturity about her that made her seem older than her years despite her youthful appearance.

"Technology, sir." Stell drew herself up to her full height of 5'5, as though that would somehow make her appear tall. "I fixed a lot of malfunctioning equipment over at the Academy."

Pike nodded consideringly. "We could use another techie."

"She is very bright for her age," Marcus stated, offering Stell a benevolent smile. "You have another young one on board, don't you? What's his name? Chekov, is it? Well, perhaps he could make a friend. I've overseen a lot of Miss Crux's education. You'll find her able-bodied and easy to get along with."

"Can she speak?" Pike inquired. The girl was very quiet, more so than most of the recruits he had spoken to lately.

"I can speak, sir." Stell replied, glancing a little uncertainly at Marcus. "But I'm quiet when I'm told to be."

"It's alright, Stell," the Admiral assured her slightly impatiently. "He doesn't bite."

Pike regarded the girl. He didn't need another recruit like Kirk, who would give attitude and fail to obey Starfleet regulations. Stell seemed to be the product of perfect results and a shy demeanour.

"She will do well on my ship."

"Gives less attitude than Kirk," Marcus grumbled.

"Good." Pike spared a glance at the girl, who was looking around as though she wasn't entirely sure what she should be doing. "Can I see her results?"

Marcus gave a brief nod and tapped something into his pad. Stell stared at the floor. So she was a modest one – that was impressive. There were too many ensigns and officers with big egos running about the place. Marcus handed the pad to Pike, who examined the girl's results critically.

_Name:__ CRUX, Estelliana Rose_

_Date of Birth:__ 2242.78_

_Academic Results:_

_Astrosciences:_ 82%

_Elementary Temporal Mechanics:_ 87%

_Engineering Extension Course:_ 98%

_Quantum Chemistry:_ 88%

_Robotics:_ 95%

_Statistical Mechanics:_ 79%

It was an impressive academic record. Pike handed the pad back to Marcus and turned his attention upon Stell. Considering the fact that she had been a mere child when she'd started at the Academy – hell, she was still a kid now – she must be some sort of young prodigy, like Pavel Chekov.

Pike smiled. "Welcome aboard, Miss Crux."

* * *

Angel glanced around as she walked into the medical bay. It was far better equipped then what he father ship had been, though it didn't surprise her. His ship had been smaller and an earlier model then the Enterprise. She glanced down at her uniform, adjusting it slightly before looking around as people walked around her, looking her up and down as they walked past.

Bones noticed her and walked towards her, guessing Angel to be the new medical assistant Pike had mentioned. "You must be the new assistant."

"Yeah. I'm Angelique Blackmore." Angel smiled, holding out her hand to him, trying to seem as friendly as she could.

"Dr Leonard McCoy. Call me Bones." Bones shook her hand firmly, examining the girl.

"Then call me Angel." Angel told him, preferring the nickname to her full name.

"Alright then. Have you served on any other ships?" Bones questioned, knowing they were getting a lot of new recruits fresh from the academy.

Angel nodded, she'd served on one other for the past four years. "One other."

"And whose was that?" Bones was curious now, wondering why the girl had transferred off the ship she had previously been serving on.

"My fathers." Angel answered, glancing around the room. She always felt uneasy when she was around new people.

"Ah. Why did you choose to transfer?" Bones figured it was something to do with not wanting to be around her family all of the time.

Angel shrugged her shoulders, brushing her brown hair from her eyes. "I wanted to get more experience."

Bones nodded, wondering how she was going to adjust to being on a new ship. "Our Captain doesn't always...follow protocol."

"I heard." Angel smiled; she had already met Jim in a bar. She'd recognised his face the moment they had met on the ship.

Bones watched her carefully as she looked at their medical equipment. "He's very upset about what happened with the Admiral."

"He seems nice enough. The Captain, I mean." Angel turned back to face him, her brown eyes shining.

"Don't tell me he's been trying to charm you as well." Bones shook his head; sometimes he felt that the Captain was incorrigible.

Angel couldn't help but laugh a little. "What makes you say that?"

"He's like that with most women." Bones informed her.

* * *

Stell walked through the engineering section, scrolling through the onboard manual. It had been one hell of a week. A London Starfleet base had been attacked by a Starfleet officer named John Harrison, who had then proceeded to attack the board meeting, killing and wounding many of the Admirals and Captains present. Admiral Pike had been one of the casualties, which had saddened Stell. She'd only met the man once, but he'd seemed kind. Now, they were preparing to follow John Harrison into Klingon territory under Captain James Kirk, who had been specially reinstated by Admiral Marcus.

Stell was so deep in thought that she nearly cannoned into another red-shirt. She immediately staggered and dropped her attention from the manual. It wasn't professional of her to be mulling over the past. She should be more focused on the mission at hand. The young man before her was more of a boy really, barely older than Stell.

"Sorry, I'm sorry," he persisted in a Russian accent.

"No, it was my fault," Stell admitted, before glancing around the engineering section. It definitely wasn't as pretty as the rest of the _Enterprise_, but it was where she would be the most functional. "I'm Estelliana Crux. Do you know where I can find Chief Engineer Chekov?"

"You've found him," the boy stated, indicating himself.

"You're the Chief Engineer? But you're so young." Stell immediately felt her cheeks heating up, knowing that her disbelief at the young man's age. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me."

Chekov merely chuckled. "I get it all the time."

"I suppose I can't talk," Stell smiled slightly. "I'm probably younger."

"How old are you?" Chekov asked curiously, inspecting the new recruit. She was curvy, with long dark wavy hair and deep green eyes. Her skin was very fair and there were freckles across her nose. Chekov supposed she was pretty.

"Seventeen," Stell replied, examining him critically. "Are you the same age?"

"Eighteen," Chekov said. It was good to have someone his own age around the ship, especially in the same section that he was working in.

"So these are the torpedoes the captain was talking about." Stell walked over to one, examining it with fascination. Admiral Marcus had given them the 72 torpedoes to fire at John Harrison when they located him. "They're very big. I wonder why they won't tell us what they run on."

"So do I," Chekov admitted. He watched as Stell checked over the torpedo, but she shook her head slowly, unable to figure out any of the specifications.

"Hmm. Well, it's not really my field. That's for a weapons specialist like the blonde lady."

"What do you do?" Chekov asked curiously. He knew that this girl had been sent down to his department for a reason, but he didn't know her specialty.

"I'm a technology specialist," Stell replied without a hint of pride, shrugging her shoulders. Chekov thought she seemed modest, not the type to brag about her skill set. He smiled a little, hoping that he'd be able to get along with this new ensign.


	2. Khan Noonien Singh

**Chapter Two: Khan Noonien-Singh**

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** A/N: Wow guys! Such great feedback so far, thank you all very much for the reviews, alerts and favourites! Khan is in this chapter nd things will get interesting soon, so hopefully you enjoy. Let us know what you think!**

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Stell tied her dark hair back as she walked into the engineering section, toying with the hem of her red Starfleet shirt. It was a little tight on her, but she supposed she could deal with that. She had to admit, she was nervous about embarking on a mission of such high importance, especially when it was the first time she'd been aboard a Starfleet vessel.

Then there were the torpedoes. Stell couldn't help but feel that there was something…odd about them. She glanced around to notice that Chekov had started cursing in Russian. It looked like the core was malfunctioning – which couldn't be good, considering they were still in warp. She hurried down towards him.

"Chekov? What's going on?"

"The core is overheating," Chekov informed her, causing Stell to frown slightly. That wasn't a regular occurrence. She remembered her studies well, and a ship as new as the _Enterprise_ definitely shouldn't be having problems with the core malfunctioning. She hurried over to Chekov, pulling her standard black goggles over her eyes.

"That's not good…"

Chekov immediately tapped a few things onto the screen, suddenly pulling the ship out of warp. Stell stumbled and landed heavily on her butt. She pushed her goggles up over her hair and glanced around as Chekov gripped the railing to prevent himself from falling over. It was evident by Chekov stopping the ship while it was in warp that he didn't think they could stop it from overheating, and would instead have to investigate the problem.

"Sorry." Chekov reached out a hand to Stell. She took it and he tugged her to her feet. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Stell glanced at the warp core, which was steaming. None of her training had prepared her for the unlikely event of pulling out of warp due to an overheated warp core. "I'd better check it out."

"I'll come with you," Chekov offered, following Stell as the dark-haired girl manouevred her way through the engineering section, looking at all of the smoke coming from the warp core. "What do you think is wrong?"

"I don't know…" Stell leaned over the warp core to examine it more closely. On the surface, she couldn't see anything wrong. However when she glanced around she noticed that a few of the cords connecting the core to the power source were snapped or bent. "This wasn't a natural malfunction."

"What do you mean?" Chekov's tone immediately indicated concern and his brow furrowed into a frown. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No." Stell shook her head, kneeling down to inspect the severed cords. How could they not have noticed this? "Someone sabotaged it, intentionally."

"Why would someone do that?" Chekov asked. He couldn't think of anyone on board who was that disagreeable. Perhaps Scotty had done something because he was angry about Jim bringing the torpedoes on board? No, Chekov doubted that even an irritated Scotty would do something so malicious. He glanced around as Sulu's transmission to John Harrison went viral throughout the ship.

Stell bit at her lip. "Honestly? I don't know."

"I need to report this to the captain," Chekov muttered.

"He'll have gone with the others," Stell replied. She didn't know too much about Jim Kirk, but from what she'd heard from Admiral Pike, he was the sort of man who liked to be in the thick of the action. "We'll have to wait until he gets back with the fugitive."

"We have to try and fix the core," Chekov insisted. He had communicated briefly with the captain to relay what had occurred, and he felt the strain on him. As chief engineer, it was his job to get this thing fixed, and quickly.

"It's too hot to touch." Stell shook her head. "We have to wait for it to cool."

Chekov glanced at Stell. He had excelled in mathematics and physics in his time at the Academy, but although he had listened carefully to Scotty, some of the technological things still managed to pass over his head. Stell was a technician, though. If anyone would know how to piece the core back together and get it working, it was her.

"How long will it take?"

"Maybe an hour," Stell fiddled with her hands, just as nervous as Chekov. "Maybe more."

Chekov glanced at the steaming core. "We need to get it fixed as soon as possible."

"I know," Stell stated, beginning to hear the irritation creeping into her tone and forcing herself to remain calm. "There's only so much I can do."

"If the Klingons find the ship…"

"Chekov." Stell threw him a sharp look. They had to remain optimistic, and Chekov's apprehension wasn't helping with that. "They won't."

"Let's hope not," Chekov responded grimly.

* * *

Angel hummed to herself as she went through the medical supplies. Both her and Bones had been doing this for little over and hour and she was bored out of her mind. She glanced over at Bones to see he had just finished counting another pile of various drugs before pushing them aside, ready to start counting again.

Angel watched him, amused at how he seemed to be restraining himself from flinging everything off the table and stalking out. "Having fun counting?"

"Not particularly." Bones sighed before grabbing a railing as the ship suddenly jerked causing a few bottles of liquid to fall to the ground and smash, spraying their contents and glass on the floor. "What the hell was that?"

Angel staggered, reaching out to grab something before she fell. "No idea. Maybe we hit something?"

"Possibly..." Bones trailed off, jerking again as the ship jerked again, harder. This time he reached out to grab Angel who had lost her grip, but wasn't quick enough causing his new assistant to slam into the wall before slumping to the ground in an unconscious state. "Angel? Shit..."

Bones knelt down to inspect the girl to see if she had injuries, noticing blood pooling around her head from where she had hit it, splitting it open. He shook Angel again, gaining no response for the second time. Bones put his arms around her, hauling her up and crossing over to a bed before setting her down.

As she was put on the bed, Angel began to stir. Bones watched her as he grabbed a cloth and an antiseptic swab for her injury. He moved back over to her side as she groaned in pain, her eyes fluttering open.

"Angel?" Bones moved her head slightly, dabbing at the cut with antiseptic.

Angel winced, shifting away from him. "My head hurts."

"You're awake." Bones couldn't help but be slightly relieved. At least she wasn't seriously injured. "I think we pulled out of warp."

"I agree." Angel nodded, trying to push herself into a sitting position despite the dizziness.

Bones put a hand on her shoulder. "Just lie down."

"I can do this." Angel pushed herself up, trying to stand and failing as she fell to the ground.

Bones sighed heavily before helping her back onto the bed. "Just like Kirk..."

"You smell nice." Angel giggled as she leaned against him.

"I think you're concussed..." Bones trailed off as he put her back on the bed, laying her down and watching as she slowly fell asleep.

* * *

"The only reason you aren't dead right now, the only reason you're still alive, is because I allow it." Jim told Khan as he sat there and watched him.

Moments later Stell trailed into the room, fiddling with her hands as she did. Angel soon followed her, along with Bones. The two medical personnel were there as Jim was yet to take himself down to the infirmary to be checked and medically cleared.

Jim, however, was still in a conversation with Khan. "We were ordered to kill you. But instead I spared your life."

"Captain..." Stell trailed off, unsure whether she should be interrupting him.

Jim turned to face her for only a moment. "Not now, Miss Crux."

"Captain, you need to be medically assessed." Angel cut in, glancing at the Captain.

Jim shook his head stubbornly. "No, I'm fine."

"A medical assessment would prove otherwise..." Bones trailed off, watching Jim carefully. "Is this him?"

Stell examined the man behind the glass. He was perhaps six feet tall and in his mid thirties, broad-shouldered, with dark hair and blue-green eyes. He was regarding her very intently, for some reason.

"John Harrison?"

"His name is Khan, and he's apparently a superhuman." Jim turned to glance at the youngest member of his crew, before throwing Khan a distasteful glance. "Apparently."

"I am better than all of you," Khan stated in a cold, deep voice that Stell found somewhat..._strange._ Everything about this man, the way he held himself, the way he spoke, indicated that he was not a regular human.

"At what?" Jim inquired.

Khan's eyes narrowed. "Everything."

"No one can be better than everyone at everything..." Stell murmured, noticing that Khan's cold eyes were still fixated on her. A shiver ran up her spine. Why was he watching her so curiously? She was nothing more than a young technician. There wasn't anything particularly interesting about her.

"Miss Crux, I don't think it's wise for you to talk to him," Jim warned, also noticing how avidly Khan was watching Stell. Why was the man so fascinated by a seventeen-year-old girl? He hadn't stared so much at the rest of them.

Bones couldn't help but start to lose patience with Jim. "Dammit, Jim, leave the prisoner and come get yourself checked out, man."

Angel glanced at Bones, starting to get annoyed. "Can we please knock him out?"

"She definitely seems to have caught his attention..." Bones spoke to himself, watching Khan as he watched Stell, before he turned back to Angel. "Angel, I'm sure that breaks several protocols."

"It does. Spock would dob you in." Jim told them, his tone slightly bitter.

"Like he dobbed you in? No wonder you two seem to not like each other right now..." Angel trailed off. Meanwhile, Khan couldn't help but smirk at the various conversations that were happening in the room, noticing how Stell looked between them with confusion.

Jim rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I think everyone knows that story..."

"Superhuman? How is he superhuman?" Stell questioned the Captain who had already been bombarded with other conversation.

"Why am I participating in a million conversations at once?" Jim glanced around at everyone in the room.

Angel gave him an amused look. "Because you are currently medically unfit."

"I'll give you unfit..." Jim threatened under his breath.

"Come here, girl." Khan directly addressed Stell, and her feet moved before her brain had caught on. She approached the glass tentatively, seemingly hypnotised by Khan's voice. Jim glanced at her, frowning.

"Miss Crux, stay away from that man."

Khan's eyes turned to Jim. "I cannot hurt her while I am imprisoned."

"Right." Jim didn't sound too convinced. He folded his arms over his chest. "No, you're just going to try and brainwash her. Convince her to save you."

"Not me, perhaps my crew," Khan replied smoothly, as Stell's mouth opened wide in shock. "The 72 men and women currently aboard your ship, hidden within the torpedoes. I believed every single one of them to be dead, after I was caught trying to sneak them away. That is why I attacked Starfleet."

Jim immediately turned to face the doctor. "Bones, you and Dr Marcus will have to check."

"How are they in torpedoes?" Stell inquired. It seemed a little illogical to her. Wouldn't this crew require food and water?

Khan did not answer. Instead he continued to survey Stell through the glass. It was not a predatory sort of stare, but rather as though he was trying to calculate something. Recognition lingered behind his eyes. She stepped away from him, thoroughly disconcerted by Khan's interest in her.

"Stell, get away from the glass," Jim ordered in a stern tone that would broach no objection.

"How about they check and you come to the infirmary with me to be checked?" Angel persisted, knowing that Jim needed to be examined properly.

Jim groaned, letting his head fall back. "Nooooo not the infirmary..."

"Don't worry, I don't bite." Angel rolled her eyes, glancing as she saw Khan move to sit down. She could tell Jim wasn't going to go with her until Stell was away from Khan, so she decided to fabricate something. "Stell. I think Chekov still needs your help."

Stell seemed to remember something suddenly, turning to face Jim. "Oh. Yes. That's why I came here. Captain, the warp core is damaged."

Jim nodded, already having been told by Chekov himself. "I was notified."

"We're waiting for it to cool down. But I think we should open the torpedoes." Stell informed him, while Angel watched Khan carefully as he continued to examine the young girl.

"You too? Really?" Jim sounded tired and almost defeated to Angel.

Stell shrugged, she couldn't help that she was curious to see if Khan was telling the truth or not. "Just to see if he's telling the truth."

"I agree." Angel had to admit that the girl had a point, but she knew their Captain wouldn't take well to it.

Jim turned on Stell, his eyes hard. "Miss Crux, you should check if the warp core has cooled."

Stell gave him a confused look. She'd just come from checking the core. "But I just..."

"Check again." Jim ordered, watching as she walked out of the room quickly.

"Captain. Medical check time." Angel reminded him, unable to hide her amusement as he groaned as if already in pain.


	3. Mistaken Identity

**Chapter Three: Mistaken Identity**

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**A/N: Huge thanks to everyone who has been reading, reviewing, following and favouriting! This chapter has some big revelations so tell us what you think ;)**

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"I have a request to make of you, Captain." Khan was on his feet when Jim entered the hold again. The man had shown a disturbing interest in young Stell, which Jim didn't approve of at all. He didn't think he owed this man anything, yet when Khan had said his entire crew would die if Jim didn't listen, Jim had listened.

"What kind of request is that?" Jim inquired, folding his arms over his chest. Was Khan going to plead for mercy? Unlikely, it didn't seem like his sort of thing. It was just weird, because Khan hadn't asked for anything before, not even when he had admitted his crewmembers were in the 72 torpedoes.

"I wish to speak with the girl, alone. Estelliana."

Jim's blue eyes narrowed. He had noticed how much attention Stell had gained from Khan, and the thought of her coming to speak with a murderer alone was not a good one. But Khan could not break through the glass.

"Why?"

Khan raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't every parent wish to be reunited with their child?"

Jim went cold all over. It wasn't possible. He had background checks on everyone on board the _Enterprise_, and everything about Stell added up. This had to be some sort of game, a manipulation Khan would attempt to work over them. Stell was the only crewmember, aside from perhaps Chekov, who was young enough to pass as Khan's child, and so he would attempt to use that as some kind of bargaining chip.

"You're lying."

"Am I?" A cold smile crossed Khan's lips. "I can give you valuable information, Kirk. There are many things you don't know. All I ask is to speak with the girl. Whether or not she is truly of my blood is only a question of whether you choose to believe it."

"Fine," Jim almost spat the words. "You can talk to her. But if I even _think_ you might be trying to use her against us, I'm going back on my decision."

* * *

"I'm fine, see?" Jim told Angel as she checked him over with a scanner.

Angel poked him in the shoulder, satisfied when Jim grimaced in pain. "No, you're in pain.'

"No. No, no, no..." Jim shook his head vigorously when he say Angel grab an injection.

Angel raised an eyebrow. She'd never seen a grown man so reluctant to get a needle. "Why not?"

"I don't like injections." Jim told her, shifting away form her.

Angel leant in close to him, lowering her voice. "I'll give you a lolly."

"How old do you think I am?!" Jim exclaimed, before pausing for a moment to consider her offer. "Do you have lime flavour?"

Angel thought on it for a moment before nodding. "I think so."

"I only like lime flavour." Jim told her, watching as she reached past him.

Angel grinned as she noticed her place was working. She could feel his eyes on her as she pretended to reach for a lolly for him. She moved her other arm suddenly, stabbing the injection into his arm and injecting the serum. Jim yowled in pain and Angel had to force herself to not laugh as she watched him.

"That HURT!" Jim exclaimed, rubbing his arm where she had injected him.

Angel rolled her eyes. "Aw. Want me to kiss it better?"

"You're horrible." Jim grumbled, watching as she started fiddling with more medical instruments as she examined him, checking his vitals. He shook his head vigorously as he watched her pick up another injection. "NO!"

Angel sighed heavily, watching him with tired eyes. "You are such a child."

"I am not. I just don't like injections, okay?" Jim moved away from her again.

Angel ignored his movements, reaching out and grabbing his arm firmly. Jim tried to pull away but was unable to as Angel held his arm in a vice-like grip. She glanced at him before pressing the injection to his arm, doing it in a gentler manner than she previously had.

Jim watched as she pulled the injection away. "That one didn't hurt as much."

"I didn't intend it to hurt." Angel pointed out, grabbing a cloth and bowl of water.

"You intended the other one to hurt?" Jim raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, because you were a pain earlier." Angel told him as she began to clean the blood off of his face from the fight.

"Bitch..." Jim murmured under his breath.

Angel smirked, having heard him, washing the cloth out. "Want another injection?"

"Uh, no." Jim hated injections; of course he didn't want anymore if it could be avoided.

"Then don't call me a bitch.' Angel put the bowl of water aside, dabbing at a cut on his cheek with antiseptic.

"Who's the Captain here?" Jim questioned her, wincing when she pressed on one of his bruises, prompting him to swat at her. "I'm the Captain!"

Angel saw the movement in the corner of her eyes, gripping his wrist and pinning it to the bed so he couldn't move it.

"Easy on the patient!" Jim winced, trying to pull away from her, but found himself unable to due to their awkward positioning.

"Sorry, Captain." Angel apologised as she let him go. It was a natural reaction for her, she had always been a defensive person mainly due to her having an older brother.

Jim rubbed his wrist, watching her "You know, Khan wanted to talk to the kid."

"Why?" Angel was genuinely curious as to why Khan would want to talk to a teenage girl.

"He said that she's his child. I don't trust him. I think he's trying to manipulate her." Jim informed her and Angel nodded in agreement as she began to clean up.

"Perhaps a blood test?" She suggested, knowing it was a way to determine whether Khan was lying or not.

"It would be worth a try. I still don't see how it's possible, though. We've run checks on her. Both parents still alive, joined Starfleet at fourteen...it all adds up." Jim was utterly confused as to how Stell could be Khan's daughter, if he was telling the truth.

Angel shrugged her shoulders. "Perhaps."

* * *

Stell hesitantly walked into the hold where Khan was imprisoned, trying to control her shaking hands. Why was this man so intrigued by her, to the extent where he felt the need to request Jim to speak to her? It didn't make any sense to her. Stell was happy dealing with overheating warp cores, but superhuman criminals. Khan stood by the bed, his sharp eyes watching her carefully.

"Captain Kirk said you wanted to talk to me," Stell stated, a little perturbed by his watchful stare. "Why is that?"

"To talk," Khan replied simply, which didn't answer any of Stell's questions. He walked closer, until he was just behind the glass. Her imagination couldn't help but consider what might happen if Khan was able to smash right through the glass. Would he kill her? Or was his objective something else?

"I didn't think one small human girl would be of much interest to talk to," Stell murmured.

"You have lovely eyes," Khan stated, causing Stell to be thrown off balance. She wasn't sure what to say, but his comment sent unpleasant shivers up her spine. Why was he even looking at her eyes so intently?

"I…thank you, I think," Stell stammered.

"They remind me of the eyes of someone I used to know," Khan stated, and Stell moved forward so that she was standing right in front of the glass. She would not shrink away in fear of this man, but instead show him that she had the courage to come in close proximity to him.

"I'm sure many people have eyes like mine."

"Not that particular colour," Khan countered, which she knew was true. Stell's parents had very different eyes to her – her mother was blue-eyed, while her father had been brown-eyed. He had left when she had been a toddler, so she didn't remember all that well.

"You can't even see what colour they are," Stell retorted, "Unless you have superior vision, too?"

Khan started to pace. "You remind me of my daughter."

Stell frowned slightly. She hadn't been aware that Khan had been a father. It seemed so hard to imagine such a merciless man as a husband or a parent.

"I didn't know you had children."

"I had one," Khan replied, his voice becoming slightly quieter. There was something in his eyes now – was it yearning? Jim had told her Khan grew slightly emotional when talking about his crew within the torpedoes. Perhaps it was the same when he discussed this lost daughter of his.

"She'd be dead a long time by now," Stell said, recalling that Bones had said those in cryo-sleep had been like that for 300 years.

"No, she's alive." Khan ceased his pacing and turned on his heel to face Stell, his eyes seeming to shine. "She's standing right in front of me."

Stell tensed. This man was mad; there was no other way to explain it. Perhaps she bore a striking resemblance to his daughter. There was even a possibility that she could be his descendent through her. But how was he meant to explain that she was his daughter when she had spent her entire life 300 years in his future? She rubbed at her temples, feeling one of her headaches coming on.

"No, that's impossible," Stell protested, "I remember my dad. He left when I was little. He definitely wasn't you."

"It is possible," Khan insisted. It made sense why he had been staring at her so often now. It wasn't because of some sort of perverse interest, but because he believed her to be his child. "You are my daughter."

"No, I'm not." Stell shook her head vigorously. "I remember both of my parents. You're mistaken."

Khan's eyes flashed briefly. "I am never mistaken."

"Do you have any proof at all?" Stell inquired. Perhaps Khan had had a family, but that would have been a long time ago. Besides, how was he meant to dismiss her entire seventeen years worth of memories?

"Your eyes," Khan gazed right at her, which made Stell uncomfortable and forced her to look at her feet. "They're your mother's eyes."

"My mother has blue eyes," Stell objected.

"Not your real one," Khan replied. Stell had a flash of pain in her head and she winced slightly. Her headaches were meant to be getting better, not worse. Perhaps Khan confusing her was just serving to aggravate them.

"I wasn't adopted," she persisted, "I've seen baby pictures. I'm especially not some superhuman. I'm normal."

Khan merely shrugged. "Take a blood test."

"You'll be disappointed," Stell said, lifting her chin. In reality, she was becoming a bit nervous. If Khan was so convinced, was there even the slightest possibility that he could be right? Stell wanted to know, yet she didn't at the same time.

"Or perhaps you will be," Khan stated, sitting down on the bed in his cell.

"Let's say I am your daughter, crazy as that is." Stell raked a hand through her black hair. "What then?"

A smile tweaked at the corners of Khan's lips. "Then we will talk some more."

"I don't think I'm allowed to talk to you much," Stell remarked, although she knew that was a poor excuse. Something had given Jim incentive to allow her to talk to Khan in the first place, so what was to say that it wouldn't happen again?

"I'm sure your captain will allow it," Khan clasped his hands together, his tone slightly sarcastic on the word 'captain'.

"Why?" Stell closely regarded the man who claimed to be her father. They both had the same high cheekbones and dark hair. "He doesn't like you."

"I have information he needs," Khan replied almost a little smugly. This made Stell hesitate. Would Jim really trade her spending 'quality time' with Khan for whatever information the man had?

"You're going to trade information for talking to me?" Stell asked in bewilderment. "I'm not worth information."

"You are to me," Khan assured her, causing Stell to narrow her eyes. She had no proof that this man was actually her father, and she wasn't ready to accept being his child until she had some solid evidence. His word didn't count for anything.

"Don't. I'm not your daughter."


	4. Children of Darkness

**Chapter Four: Children of Darkness**

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**A/N: Hi everyone, here's the next chapter! Not so many reviews for the last one...was there something you didn't like? Let us know! Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Please do review - it helps motivate us and means you're likely to get another chapter quicker ;) Enjoy!**

* * *

Angel glanced around the corridors of the ship as she headed towards the medical bay. She had thought Khan would've been more reluctant to have his blood taken, but he had given it to her willingly, as had Stell. She guessed they both wanted to clear up the whole mess as soon as possible. Although, she assumed Stell just wanted to find out whether he was actually telling the truth or if he was spinning a web of lies within her mind.

"I have blood." Angel held the vials up as Bones glanced over at her from what he was doing.

Bones gave her a questioning look. "For what?"

"Blood test. Khan thinks Stell is his daughter." Angel explained, putting the blood samples next to him on his desk.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Bones commented, glancing at the blood she had put next to him.

Angel shrugged. She knew it was unlikely, but she wasn't going to question it. "Well, they wanted a blood test."

"Well, there's no harm in testing it, I suppose." Bones took a small sample of each, moving over to a machine.

"I've never done a blood test before, may I watch?" Angel asked, following him over to the machine eagerly.

"Of course." Bones smiled at her before putting the blood samples in the machine.

Angel had never been one who enjoyed technology or paperwork; she preferred the practical side of things. She leant over Bones' shoulder as he tapped things into the machine. She was so close to him that she could feel his body heat radiating off him. She watched as a piece of paper was printed from the machine and Bones examined the statistics.

"So?"

"I'll be damned..." Bones handed her the piece of paper so she could examine the statistics herself.

Angel examined the results, looking at the markers. "They're related."

"The blood doesn't just have the same regenerative qualities as Khan's, but it's nearly an exact match." Bones commented as they examined the results together.

"He is her father." Angel murmured, knowing Jim wasn't going to be pleased and Stell even less so.

Bones shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around it all. "How is that possible? Unless..."

"Unless what?" Angel raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going through his head.

"Starfleet woke her up earlier." Bones turned to look at her, still pondering his thoughts.

"I need to show our Captain. Thank you, Bones." Angel smiled before walking out of the medical bay with the sheet in her hand.

* * *

"I submitted a blood test, like you said I should."

Stell trailed back to where Khan was being held. Angel had been astonished when Stell had explained that Khan believed her to be his child, and wanted a blood test done to prove that she wasn't. She generally avoided injections if she could help it, but Stell thought this matter was one of importance.

"Good," Khan stated in his baritone voice, clambering to his feet upon seeing her enter.

"I don't think it's possible." Stell folded her arms over her chest. "I remember my family. I remember every detail of my childhood. So how am I your child? You were frozen until a year ago."

"Memories can be altered," Khan said dismissively, walking right up to the glass. Stell wondered what would happen if she was really his daughter. Would he expect her to join him, help him? She firmly pushed such thoughts away. She was _not_ his daughter, and the blood test would prove that.

"So then what happened to me? If I really am your daughter."

"You were unfrozen a few years ago," Khan stated, pressing a hand up against the glass. "Sent to Starfleet Academy to be trained, I would assume."

"How do you know all of this?" Stell inquired, a frown tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Your age." Khan inspected her with those piercing eyes of his. "You are seventeen, aren't you? As I thought. Bright little cadets such as yourself pass through the Academy within three years. So of course, it makes sense. You would have been woken when you were fourteen…which is how old you were when you were put into cryo-sleep."

Stell's mind whirled as she considered this. Fourteen…that was when the car crash had happened, and the headaches had started. Yet she didn't have any amnesia at all, she remembered everything perfectly. She turned as she saw Jim walk into the room, his hard eyes fixated on the prisoner.

"Khan, I'd appreciate if you stopped talking to her. Now." When Khan raised an eyebrow, Jim folded his arms. "I don't like you. I also don't like you trying to work your manipulation on the youngest member of my crew."

Khan frowned. "I am not manipulating her."

"You are trying to convince her that she's your child in the hope that she'll help you," Jim accused.

"No, I just want her to learn the truth that Starfleet concealed," Khan replied calmly, his indifferent tone contrasting to Jim's growing agitation.

"What truth?" he demanded. "I've done a complete background check on all of my crew, all of Stell's details add up."

"He told the truth about the torpedoes," Stell piped up, immediately falling silent when she saw the smirk crossing Khan's lips. She didn't want to appear to be siding with the enemy…even if that enemy did claim to be her father.

"That doesn't make him honest," Jim reprimanded her, however she was saved answering when Angel walked in. Stell immediately bit her lip as Angel showed Jim something that caused him to glance between her and Khan. It must be the results from her blood test.

"What…what does it say?" Stell inquired, now afraid of knowing the answer.

Angel's expression was sympathetic. "He's telling the truth."

"I…I'm his daughter?" Stell said, completely shocked. She had thought there would be a small chance at best of her being Khan's child. Now it seemed the results said she was a superhuman too…an Augment or whatever he had called them recently. She found her heart pounding almost painfully fast in her chest.

"Yes," Angel stated.

"I told you I was right," Khan said rather smugly, his gaze fixed on Stell, who was trying not to hyperventilate. She was the daughter of a man who had murdered innocent people. What did that mean about her past? Were her memories implants? She knew it was possible…she just thought there might have been some glitch. _The headaches…_so that's what they were.

"Stell?" Jim examined her sympathetically. "Do you need to take a rest?"

"I'm…I'm fine," Stell blurted out, although anyone could tell that she was lying.

"Why don't we get you a cup of coffee?" Angel suggested, putting an arm around Stell, who nodded mutely. Jim was grateful for Angel leading the shaken teenage girl from the room. He turned his attention upon Khan.

"What now? What's the grand scheme now that you know she's definitely your daughter?"

Khan's expression was impassive. "There is none."

"Right. So you planned to get yourself locked up, is that it?" Jim rolled his eyes when Khan merely smirked, and turned on his heel, headed for the door. "Keep grinning all you want. It ain't getting you out of there."

* * *

Angel raked her hair back as she stirred the milk into her coffee. She felt tired, but she didn't know why. She hadn't exactly been doing anything overly physical that would've made her tired. She glanced up as she heard the soft tread of shoes on the floor and noticed Jim standing a few metres away, pacing in deep though. She smiled a little and grabbed another cup of coffee before walking over to him.

"Coffee?"

Jim glanced at her. "Are you asking me if I have any, or if I want some?"

Angel held out the cup of coffee she had made him. "If you want it."

"Oh, thanks." Jim took the cup of her, taking a long gulp of the warm liquid.

Angel watched him, sipping her own coffee. "You look worried."

"I am." Jim confirmed, raking a hand through his hair, causing it to become messier then it previously had been.

Angel put a hand on his shoulder, rubbing gently in a comforting gesture. "You shouldn't stress so much."

"I can't help it. I don't know what he's planning." Jim sighed, referring to Khan. He knew he was planning something, he could see it in the mans eyes, but he just didn't know what and it was driving him insane.

Angel nodded, taking another sip of her coffee. "Sit."

Jim sighed before sitting down in the chair she was gesturing to, sipping his coffee and finishing it moments later. Angel stood behind him, putting her own coffee cup down before resting her hands on his shoulders. She began to massage them gently, working out the tension in his muscles. She felt satisfied with her work as he groaned softly, prompting her to press harder.

"What are you doing?" Jim questioned, though he wasn't complaining in any way. He was actually enjoying the massage.

"You're tense and it isn't good for your muscles. I'm giving you medical treatment." Angel grinned, continuing to move her hands along his shoulders and at the base of his neck.

Jim raised an eyebrow, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "If you say so..."

"If you don't enjoy it, I can stop." Angel pointed out, lifting her hands for a moment, earning a groan of protest.

Jim shook his head, leaning back in the chair. "No, I like it. It feels good."

"I'm glad it does." Angel smiled, reaching down to grab her cup so she could have another sip of the bitter liquid, noticing Jim's eyes following her movement. She raised her eyebrow but said nothing, earning a confused stare from him for a moment.

"What?" Jim asked, noticing the pause in her previous ministrations.

"You're watching me." Angel finished her coffee, sitting down beside Jim.

"So?" Jim didn't see why she cared if he was watching her or not.

"Huh." Angel nodded, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back in her chair.

Jim smiled at her warmly. "Thanks for the massage."

"If you ever need another one, let me know.' Angel shrugged. She liked using her hands so it had been a benefit for both of them. That, and she had been bored.

Jim nodded. "Sure thing."

* * *

Stell sat on the steps in the engineering with her head in her hands. She had silently helped Chekov in fixing the warp core, but the entire time her mind had been elsewhere. She wiped at her eyes, slightly startled to realise she was crying. Why wouldn't she be? Her father was a genetically enhanced superhuman who had murdered people, and her entire past had been built on a lie.

"Stell? Is everything alright?" Chekov asked, walking over as he noticed her miserable state. She looked up and shook her head, and he sat beside her. She was normally a mature and solemn girl, so he wondered what had caused her to become so emotional.

"How much do you know about the prisoner?" Stell murmured, rubbing at her eyes. She must be seen as such a child, sitting here crying while they had bigger problems, like fixing the _Enterprise._

"Not a lot," Chekov admitted. "Why?"

"Khan…he's a genetically enhanced human, frozen in cryo-sleep for 300 years." Stell stared at her hands, feeling her vision start to blur once more. Her voice choked up. "I'm his child. Everything about me is a lie. My family…they never existed."

"You have a family now, though," Chekov insisted. He had left his family back in Russia when he'd come to join Starfleet, although it wasn't exactly the same as realising your father was a psychotic sociopath. "We are your family."

"_He_ is my family." Stell spat the words.

"Only by blood," Chekov informed her gently. He watched as Stell tugged in frustration at her long dark hair, before breaking into sobs. Chekov put an arm around her and Stell leaned her head on his shoulder. "You have a family. The crew is your family.

"I don't know that," Stell said desperately. She thought that she could rely on _someone,_ but she was torn between a past and father she couldn't remember, and a present based on fabrications someone had forced into her head. "Everything I thought was true turned out to be a lie."

"Do you need anything?" Chekov inquired as he watched Stell rub furiously at her eyes, clearly still trying to hold back frustrated tears.

"I'll be alright," Stell insisted, offering Chekov a watery smile. He assessed her critically, but knew from experience that such information delivered as a harsh blow would take a long time to recover from.

"I don't believe you."

She darted him a sharp look. "You don't have to."

* * *

"For the last time, Spock, no!" Jim exclaimed, earning a startled look from a passing officer. He sighed heavily, raking a hand through his hair. "She is still a human child, no matter if she's different to what we first thought. We aren't using her as some sort of hostage against Khan. She's one of our own."

"With all due respect, Captain, Estelliana was put on our ship by the same people who used Khan to engineer weapons," Spock pointed out. As always, his reasoning was sound – but that was the problem. Jim tended to think with his heart more than his head. "She could have an ulterior motive…"

"Didn't you see how upset she was by the discovery?" Jim retorted, folding his arms over his chest. "I'm sorry. It's out of the question. She isn't a mole put in here by Admiral Marcus. She doesn't even know who she is."

"It would be a logical decision," Spock argued, "Captain, Estelliana is possibly the one person on this ship whose life Khan would not sacrifice. I am not including the 72 crewmembers in the torpedoes in that equation. However, should he prove to be detrimental to our safety, Estelliana could prove to curtail any chance of attack."


	5. Vengeance

**Chapter Five: Vengeance**

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**A/N: Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter where things really start to change. Hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Stell had been working as hard as she could with Chekov to fix things up in the engineering section. Admiral Marcus had shown up in a ship twice the size of the _Enterprise_ and fired upon them, giving them no choice but to flee. Khan had proudly declared that he had designed the ship, although he had not been pleased to confess that it was only because Admiral Marcus had been holding 72 others of his kind – of _their_ kind – hostage.

It was still too much for her to get her head around. She was an Augment? It didn't seem possible. She wasn't anything out of the ordinary – and yet she was. She was far smarter than the average seventeen-year-old. She was strong for a girl of her size. But she was nothing _exceptional_, nothing like Khan. So how was it possible for her to be his daughter? It seemed that the questions could not leave Stell's mind unanswered.

Jim and Khan had been jettisoned across to the _Vengeance_ to take control but personally, Stell was worried. There was a nagging feeling at the back of her mind that they couldn't trust Khan, that no matter what he said his intentions were unclear. She ran onto the bridge as Khan hailed them, holding an injured Jim prisoner.

"You have betrayed us," Spock stated from where he sat in the Captain's chair, his expression becoming very cold as Khan unceremoniously tossed Jim to the ground. Stell clamped a hand over her mouth. This man could not be her father, not if he intended to destroy them.

"I want my crew," Khan replied, and they all knew he was referring to the 72 men and women preserved in cryo-tanks in the torpedoes. Spock had talked to Bones about removing them, but Stell had pleaded that surely sending Khan empty torpedoes would only anger him further. Spock had been reluctant to agree with the girl, but admitted her logic was sound.

"Why should I give them to you?" Spock replied, his dark eyes narrowing.

Khan's smile was dark. "If you don't, you will regret it."

Spock did not want to surrender, yet felt he had no choice. Scotty, Jim and Carol were all present on the _Vengeance_. He had no doubt that Khan would kill them without a second to spare for thought should he attempt to grow aggressive.

"Your crew for mine."

Khan inclined his head. "Agreed."

Spock pressed a few buttons and beamed over the 72 members of Khan's crew. Khan responded by beaming the _Enterprise_ crewmembers back, but then Stell felt a strange sensation creeping up from her toes. She examined her arms and was horrified to see bright golden light swirling in circles around her. Khan was beaming her over to the _Vengeance._

"No!" Stell cried in horror, before the bridge of the _Enterprise_ swam out of focus and she found herself staggering as she accustomed to the dim lighting of the _Vengeance_ interior. The first thing she noticed was the body of a man in a blue and black uniform, his skull crushed in. She resisted the urge to scream. It was Admiral Marcus.

"She was not a part of the deal," Spock said over the transmission, causing Stell to spin around. Khan sat in the Captain's chair like he belonged there. It was just the two of them, and she felt alone and afraid. This man claimed to be her father, yet he'd killed and hurt people. Would he really hesitate with her because she was his daughter?

"She's my daughter," Khan retorted coldly, "She's part of my crew."

Stell's gaze landed back on Admiral Marcus's ruined body. Who had the strength to do that kind of thing? The bloody mess made her vomit loudly, making Khan glance at her. Panic overwhelmed Stell, to the point where common sense had no chance of prevailing. She turned and fled the control room, knowing only one thing: she had to get off this ship. Khan cancelled the transmission to the _Enterprise_ before getting to his feet and following her.

* * *

"Sit still." Angel ordered Jim as she looked over him. The two were sitting in the corner of the medical bay, away from the others.

"Ouch, sorry!" Jim exclaimed as she touched a tender spot while looking over him.

Angel hit his arm lightly as she reached for an antiseptic pad. "Stop your squirming."

"I can't help it." Jim told her, wincing as she began to dab at his face with the antiseptic cloth. "How are the others? I think Carol had her leg broken..."

Angel dropped the antiseptic pad into a bin before turning back to him, examining him further. She couldn't help but worry about the health of their captain; he had a habit of not resting or telling people when he was injured. No matter how severe it was. "Bones is looking over them. Anything broken?"

Jim shook his head, wishing he hadn't when a sharp pain shot through his skull. "I don't think so." He watched as Angel work as she finished dressing his wounds. "How do I look?"

"Sore." Angel told him as she stepped back, washing her hands and placing the medical waste into a bin.

"Just a bit..." Jim admitted, wincing when he moved to stand up.

Angel didn't fail to notice the expression of pain that crossed is features and placed her hands on her hips. "What do you need?"

"Something to make me feel better." Jim told her, watching as she walked over to the medical supplies, picking up and injection. He hated injections. He also knew that she knew that. "That's meant to make me feel better?!"

"It will." Angel promised as she walked back over with the injection in her hand.

Jim couldn't help but groan. Injections always seemed to make him feel worse, not better, even when the person injecting him was a rather attractive woman, which he hadn't failed to notice. Angel pressed the injection to his arm, planting a quick kiss on his cheek as she injected the painkiller into his blood stream. The injection made Jim wince, but it was nothing compared to the pain that he was already experiencing from his earlier beating.

Angel pulled away, glancing over him again. "Feel better?"

"A little..." Jim tried to stand again, his head still pounding.

Angel noticed the movement and stepped towards him, deciding it was best for him to get some rest. "Come on. I'll take you back to your room."

"Alright." Jim nodded, allowing her to help him to his feet.

Angel supported him as they made their way down the hall towards Jim's room. She glanced down at his leg as he was limping slightly, half of his weight supported by her. Jim opened the door when they got to his room and Angel helped inside, placing him on his bed gently, watching as relief crossed his features at finally being able to lie down comfortably.

"What happened with Khan?" Jim questioned. He had been pondering why the criminal hadn't attacked them. He definitely had the ability to kill them, so why didn't he?

"I'm not sure." Angel answered, nibbling at her lip out of habit.

Jim nodded before looking up at her with his piercing blue eyes. "Am I going to live?"

"Why wouldn't you?" Angel was confused at his questions. His injuries hadn't been that severe.

Jim cracked a small smile as he answered her question. "Bones always thinks I'm on the brink of death."

Angel checked over his vitals, satisfied when they all came back positive. "Your vitals are all fine."

"Good to know." Jim yawned, watching as she got to her feet from where she had been sitting on the end of his bed. She raked her brown hair from her face, her eyes betraying how tired she felt. "Are you okay?"

"Just tired." Angel replied, seeing no point in lying to him. It was true that she hadn't been sleeping well, but she wasn't going to let it affect how she performed her duties.

"You work too much." Jim pointed out, knowing that the girl deserved a break.

Angel shook her head. She knew that she could never work hard enough when it came to looking after the crew. "I don't work enough."

Jim chuckled, shaking his head. "Sure you do."

"How so?" Angel raised an eyebrow at his statement.

Jim shrugged his shoulders. "You're always taking care of me."

"Is that bad?" Angel couldn't help the slight grin that twitched at the edge of her lips as she exited the room.

* * *

Stell didn't know the layout of the _Vengeance_, and she didn't care. All she knew was that Khan was psychotic. Even if he was her family, it didn't matter. He had done terrible things and she could not accept him as her father, especially not with any memories of him. She took a right down a dark corridor and crawled under a cabinet, grateful for her small size for once in her life.

She clamped a hand over her mouth as she saw Khan's black boots pad into view. After a few tense moments, he headed back the way he'd come, and Stell awarded herself a sigh of relief. Suddenly a hand reached under the cabinet and grabbed Stell by the arm, hauling her up. She lost herself completely and screamed.

"No one can hear you scream here," Khan informed her coldly. Stell tugged away from him, but he caught her by the arm and gripped tightly, dragging her back to the bridge. Stell noticed that he had managed to dispose of Admiral Marcus's body during her brief flight, and for that she was immensely grateful.

"Are you going to kill me, too?" she asked, suddenly afraid.

"No," Khan resumed his seat in the Captain's chair, keeping a careful eye on Stell. "You are part of my crew."

"I don't know you." Stell took a few steps back. "You're a criminal."

"I am your father." His icy gaze landed upon her, before he turned his attention to the controls, training the ship's weapons on the _Enterprise._ Stell watched with growing horror, realising that while Khan had spared her from destruction, he wouldn't spare the rest of the crew.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Disposing of our enemy," he stated calmly.

"No!" Stell cried, resisting the urge to physically attack him. "Khan, don't. They gave you what you asked for."

"They are still the enemy," Khan insisted. They had taken his little Stell and replaced her with a girl who didn't even recognise him anymore, who didn't understand his motives.

"Your terms were that you would trade," Stell protested.

"I am aware of my terms." Khan's tone became dismissive, before he opened fire on the lower half of the _Enterprise_, clearly targeting the engineering section. Stell lunged at him, but Khan easily sidestepped her. She picked up Admiral Marcus's stun gun, which Khan had made the mistake of leaving on a desk. He turned to face her as she pointed the gun at him with shaking hands. She had never shot anyone before...or had she?

"Cease fire now," she said, surprised by the commanding tone in her own voice. What had she been, during her time? A fourteen-year-old child...yet something told her she had been more than just a young girl.

"Oh, I already did what I wanted," Khan assured her with a smirk, tapping in coordinates as Stell kept the gun aimed at him.

"Where are we going?" she asked of him, although she felt that the gun, cold metal in her warm hands, didn't perturb him in the least.

"Kronos," he replied coolly, before pushing the lever forward and warping them there.

* * *

Jim and Angel both laughed as they sat in his room. They'd been having a rather interesting conversation when the ship gave a sudden jolt, causing Jim to jerk sideways and for Angel to fall to the ground as she lost her footing. She winced in pain as she landed on her wrist, resulting in a cracking sound that made her cringe.

"Angel!" Jim exclaimed as the alarms began to blare throughout the ship.

"I'm fine!" Angel yelled to him over the alarm, examining her wrist to make sure she hadn't broken it.

"What was that?" Jim asked as he pulled her to her feet, the two of them using each other to gain their balance.

Angel glanced around, opening the door and peering outside. "I don't know."

"We should find out what the hell is going on." Jim muttered, heading towards the bridge with Angel hot on his heels. "Spock, what the hell?"

"Khan has betrayed us. He fired upon the engine rooms and he has beamed Estelliana onto his ship." Spock explained calmly, his emotionless façade never seeming to alter, even in their present situation.

Jim took a moment to collect his thoughts, confusion registering on his face. "Wait, what?" His questioned was never answered as Chekov began to hail the bridge. "What now..."

"We've lost all power to the engines, sir." Chekov yelled over the communicator, the sounds of clashing metal sounding in the background. "We can't get them back online, sir. Sorry, sir."

Jim turned to Spock, whose mind seemed to be mulling over the situation. "We don't have Estelliana. Without her, we cannot hope to fix the engines in time."

"In time for what?" Jim questioned, confused as to what he was referring to.

"Before we crash into Earth." Angel explained, glancing at the screens as the power began to fail, the lights flickering around them.

"What can we do?" Jim looked around at the rest of the crew who were on the bridge.

Spock was the first to speak up, as he usually was. "We need to turn on auxiliary power."

"Our auxiliary power is failing too, sir." One of the other crewmembers informed them as the lights continued to flicker.

Chekov's voice sounded again. "Without repairing the warp core, we can't do anything."

"What are our options?" Jim was starting to feel sick to the stomach.

"Crash or crash, sir…" Chekov trailed off before his voice was cut off and the sound of white noise was heard on the bridge.

"There has to be another way." Jim muttered to himself before running off the bridge.

Angel followed after him, knowing that look on his face to be one where trouble followed after his actions. She wished she knew the captain better so she was able read his body language and try to figure what he was planning. Hell, she just wished she knew him better. She wondered what had happened in his life to make him how he was.

"What are you planning to do?" Angel grabbed Jim's arm, turning him to face her as she caught up to him.

"There's been a disconnection of power. I need to reconnect it to stabilize the ship." Jim explained, glancing down at her.

Angel couldn't help but tighten her grip, as if she were afraid to let go. "That's suicide."

"It has to be done, Angel." Jim reasoned, glancing at where her hand rested on his arm.

Angel clenched her jaw, knowing that what he was planning was a stupid idea. "You'll die, Jim."

Jim pried her hand off his arm, but held it in his still. "I have to realign the core."

"And if you can't, then you die for nothing." Angel knew that they were all likely to die.

"I will. I have to." Jim assured her, pulling her into a tight hug.

Angel hugged back, not wanting to let go. Jim drew back a little before pressing his lips to hers, pulling her closer as she returned the kiss. Angel dug her nails into the fabric of his shirt, not wanting to let go. After a few moments Jim drew back, leaning his forehead against hers.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, kissing her cheek.

Angel shook her head, pulling back from him reluctantly. "Don't apologise. Now, go do what you intended to do."


	6. Kronos

**Chapter Six: Kronos**

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**A/N: Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Things are definitely diverting from movieverse now, and you can be guaranteed to see some more Augments within the next few chapters ;)**

* * *

Stell didn't relinquish her hold on the gun, or point it away from Khan, as they warped to Kronos. He frowned and kicked the gun away from her, and she wondered if he'd done it because he thought she would shoot...or because he knew she wouldn't, and seeing her continue to hold up the empty threat irritated him.

"I...I'll sabotage the warp core," Stell said boldly.

He arched an eyebrow calmly. "No you won't."

"I will!" she insisted, her temper flaring. "I'm not a child!"

"But you are," Khan stated, examining her closely. He would always see her as his little girl, no matter how old she was. Yet this rebellious dark-haired hellion before him was not the Stell he remembered, especially when she struck him across the force. He worked his jaw and rubbed his cheek. The contact hurt more than when Jim had punched him, but Stell was an Augment, after all. "That hurt."

"How did it hurt?" Stell spat, folding her arms. "Captain Kirk attacked you on Kronos and you didn't feel a thing."

"My own daughter just hit me." Khan's eyes were glittering with some kind of emotion that Stell couldn't place. He gazed at her, his cheek blooming bright red. "Of course it hurt."

"You don't feel anything," Stell accused. How could he? He had just destroyed her entire crew. She had seen the results of the test herself, knew he was her father. Yet she couldn't remember him at all. Stell had a strong sense of duty...but those consisted of her duties to Starfleet. A sudden thought struck her. "My mother. Is she one of those we have on board?"

"No. She is dead."

The words were quiet, but Stell could detect no hint of emotion there. Khan would not look at her, so how was she meant to deduce what he was feeling? She watched him critically, green eyes narrowing.

"Do you care that she's dead?" Stell demanded, before realising that it didn't matter either way. It felt like a slap to the face, realising that she couldn't even remember her own mother, the woman who had given birth to her. "You murdered innocent people."

"I did what was necessary," Khan replied coldly, frowning across at her.

"No." She shook her head vigorously. "You killed the _Enterprise_ crew out of spite."

"They are our enemy!" Khan's raised volume caused Stell to flinch. She had always seen him as cold and calm and collected, but now she saw the potential for savagery, the animal lingering beneath the civil veneer. "They altered your memories."

Stell watched him suspiciously. "How can I trust you?"

"I would do anything for my family," Khan stated, turning his back on her. She wanted to believe him, and some part of her did, but he hadn't listened to her. If she was his daughter, shouldn't he respect her?

"Then why didn't you stop firing when I asked you?"

"Because they hurt you." Khan whirled around to face the dark-haired girl. They had taken his Stell and now there was nothing more than a ghost in her place, a girl who didn't remember him or her mother or the Eugenics Wars. How was he supposed to come to terms with that? Yet he remembered one among his crew who might have the ability to help Stell, and another still whose ruthlessness as a warrior could help them triumph over Starfleet.

"They never harmed me," Stell insisted.

"Not physically." Khan paced back and forth as if in agitation. "You don't know me. Your memories of me were taken."

"And that doesn't affect you, does it?" Stell asked. Some part of her wanted him to show some sort of warmth or kindness, just a little something to prove her truly was her father. Yet she knew if he did, she would have to accept him, and she wasn't certain that she could do that.

"It does," Khan replied, watching as his daughter walked over to the controls. He stepped in front of her, blocking her path, and she looked up at him with those dark green eyes. Rhyne's eyes. "What are you planning?"

"We are in orbit." Stell didn't see how she hadn't realised it before. Why were they orbiting Kronos? There was the dangerous possibility that the Klingons would attack them, and she doubted that even the powerful Khan could stop all of them.

Khan's blue eyes narrowed. "That didn't answer my question."

Her chin jerked up defiantly. "You are not my captain."

"I am now." How he wished she would see past what was now, see what they had been before all of this. Yet there were many horrors even during the Eugenics Wars, things Khan wasn't certain whether he wanted Stell to remember or not.

"I know what you're going to do." Stell swallowed hard. "You're going to get them out of cryo-sleep."

What impact would this have on her? Could it potentially trigger memories? She wasn't sure whether she had known any of the other Augments before all of this had happened. All she knew was that she was somewhere between the Estelliana Crux that Starfleet had engineered, and the girl she had been once, three hundred years in the past.

* * *

Angel stared up at the ceiling of her room. It was quiet on the ship now, everything had been sorted and repairs had begun. It was like picking up the pieces of your life and trying to sew them back together, but they never quite fit right. Something just didn't feel right to her, but she wasn't quite sure of what it was that felt off. She looked up when she heard someone enter the room, looking back to the ceiling when she saw that it was only Bones.

"It's about Jim." Bones sat at the end of her bed, the tone in his voice making her stomach twist painfully.

"What happened?" Angel sat up, pushing her hair out of her face, noting that she needed to brush it.

"He's..." Bones stared down at his hands, "He's dead."

Angel bit her lip, unsure of what to say or do. She wanted to scream and kick things, knowing that she should've stopped him when she had had the chance. She glanced at Bones as he raked a hand through his shirt brown hair and Angel couldn't help but wrap her arms around him in a tight embrace. He returned the embrace, grateful for the small amount of comfort that it provided.

"How are you feeling?" Angel asked, her voice sounding distant to her own ears.

"Not so good." Bones admitted, his voice cracking slightly as the two remained close to each other.

Angel kissed his cheek in a comforting gesture before resting her head on his shoulder. "You were good friends."

Bones nodded, putting an arm around her and holding her close to him. "We were. Spock is Captain for now."

"He will make a good Captain.' Angel remarked, although she knew it wouldn't be the same.

Bones nodded, seemingly reading her thoughts. "He will. Not one like Jim, though."

"I knew what he was planning." Angel blurted out, the guilt in her chest overflowing and wrapping her in pain.

Bones blinked in confusion, looking down at her. "You knew he was going to get himself killed?"

"I told him not to, but he wouldn't listen." Angel whispered, wanting to claw at her hair to feel something other than the numbness she was currently feeling. "I should've knocked him out."

"He saved all of our lives." Bones tightened his grip around her shoulders, knowing that she was beating herself up over it. They hadn't been friends for long, but they had grown close.

Angel nodded in agreement. "I know."

"I guess all we can do now is be grateful for his sacrifice." Bones muttered, more to himself then anyone else. Bones watched as Angel stretched across her bed. "Would you like me to leave?"

"No. Stay, please." Angel reached out, gripping his hand in her own.

"Alright." Bones laid down beside her, putting an arm around her. "It'll be alright. Somehow."

"I hope so." Angel whispered, resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes.

* * *

Khan sat in the medical bay where Stell had managed to find refuge, watching her as she slept, curled up beneath the blankets. He had landed the _Vengeance_ in unoccupied territory, knowing that it would likely be safer than remaining in orbit. Managing such a large ship would be hard for most, but Khan had _built_ this, he knew how it moved. Stell shifted in her sleep, murmuring under her breath. Khan reached out a hand on instinct and stroked her dark hair, watching as she jerked upwards.

"Estelliana."

"Why are you here?" she demanded. She had felt his soft caress and thought perhaps it had been the gentleness she had been searching for. Perhaps it was possible for Khan to feel after all. Yet she did not remember how things were before, and the unknown frightened her.

"Making sure you are well."

"Of course I'm well. Just tired." Stell pushed the blankets aside, clambering to her feet. The floor was cold beneath the soles of her feet. "Why are you waking them up? What are you planning?"

"War, Estelliana," Khan replied simply, and she shivered as she realised that he meant the war that was on the brink of breaking out between the Federation and the Klingons.

"What purpose would I serve?" Stell asked. She didn't want to be involved in any such fight, but she knew Khan would bring her into it. Whether she liked it or not, she was one of his kind. "I can't fight."

"You are intelligent."

She bit her lip. "Not as smart as you or the others."

"You know Starfleet better than any of us," Khan stated, and Stell caught her breath as she realised what he was suggesting. He wanted her to give inside information – but could she? Of course, it had been Admiral Marcus to spin her into a web of lies, to pretend she was something she wasn't...but did that merit Starfleet's destruction?

"I won't help you." Stell folded her arms over her chest. "I refuse to."

"You may refuse, but these are the people who made you forget your family," Khan reminded her, and Stell bit her lip. She thought of the mother whose name she didn't even know, whose face she couldn't remember, and whose eyes she had inherited. Now she was torn between two sides, and she didn't think she had the ability to choose.

"I don't want to hurt people," Stell murmured, a shiver crawling its way up her spine. "That's not who I am."

But who was she really? For all she knew, she could have been a heartless killer before. Starfleet could have suppressed that instinct; shaped her into an innocent little girl...she wanted to scream. Who had she been? Who was she? She was so frustrated that it made her want to tear her hair out.

"You just have to help _me_ hurt people."

"I can't do that." Stell whispered, wrapping her arms around herself tight. "I don't like seeing people hurt."

"It's what happens in war," Khan remarked. She had known that before she was frozen. She had been an adamant fourteen-year-old soldier. Not a fighter, but she had been capable of building weapons. Yet...she had never been cold. She had never been as impassive as him. There was too much of her mother in her for that. "Stell, this was inevitable."

"The others can help you," Stell shot at him. She wasn't certain how many more he planned to awaken, but she didn't think Khan's place was to create an army. They were not fighting a war, merely contributing to the outbreak of one.

"You feel more than they do. You're more of an asset."

"An asset?" His cold words stung at her. "So that's all I am."

Khan inspected her carefully. "You are my daughter."

"That's just a word to you." Everything came spilling out in a rush, until she was just an emotional teenager. "You don't care about me. You haven't shown that you're my father."

"I don't know how to," Khan stated, watching as Stell lay back down on the bed, tugging the blankets around her like some sort of protection. "You aren't the daughter I remember."

* * *

Angel played with her hands, her eyes fixed on the ground in front of her as she sat outside the hospital. She'd lost track of how long she had been sitting there, contemplating on whether to go in or not. It had been a relief for everyone when Bones had figured a way to bring Jim back from the dead, but not many people had visited him. Angel had been one of the few, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to be there when he woke up, considering their last few moments together.

Angel sighed, raking her hair back and getting to her feet. She wasn't one to beat around the busy and she thought it stupid that she'd been sitting there scared to talk to another human being. She checked her phone, noting that she'd been sitting there for nearly an hour, no doubt passers-by thought her some kind of idiot.

She let out a long breath before walking through the hospital entrance. She made a beeline for the receptionist's desk, although she already knew which room was Jim's. She just wanted to feel normal and not like she had been checking on him everyday since he had been taken to the hospital.

She spoke to the receptionist for a few moments, finding out what she already knew about where Jim's room was before she smiled and thanked the blonde girl and pulled her phone out again. She didn't know why, but lately she had a thing for checking the time. She raked her hair back, slipping her phone back into her pocket.

"Angel?" Angel's head snapped up when she heard a familiar voice speak her name.

"Jim?" She walked over towards her blonde friend, unable to stop a smile from spreading across her face.

"What are you doing here?" Jim questioned, glancing around the place.

"I came here to see you." Angel told him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. Jim put his arms around her waist, holding him close to her. "Don't ever do that again."

"I don't plan to." Jim whispered into her hair, happy for the human contact.

"Good." Angel held onto him tightly for a few more moments before the two broke out of their embrace.

Jim smiled down at her. "How are the others?"

"Alive. Worried." Angel told him, although she knew a lot of the crew were trying to fall back into a normal lifestyle pattern.

"They worry too much." Jim muttered, rolling his eyes. He figured they would've been used to his reckless behaviour by now.

"Because their Captain is an idiot who makes stupid decisions that gets him killed!" Angel exclaimed before pausing for a moment, almost immediately regretting her words. "Sorry."

"Apology accepted." Jim grinned, earning himself a rather hard punch in the arm that made him wince. He was slightly surprised at the strength of his female friend.

"Don't look so smug. I was worried sick about you!" Angel was frustrated with her friend. Part of her wished that he could've felt how she felt so he knew how much pain it had been over the past few days.

"Good thing Bones knew what he was doing." Jim pointed out. He knew he would be forever grateful to his friend for being curious and wanting to experiment. "It feels strange, getting a second chance at life."

Angel shook her head. "I'm happy you get another chance. Might make you more careful."

"Me? Careful?" Jim gave her an incredulous look, like it was illegal for her to use his name and the word 'careful' in the same sentence. "Never."

Angel couldn't help the sigh that escaped her. She at least thought that dying and having to be brought back from the dead would've made him somewhat more careful and self-preserving.

"What?" Jim asked, noticing the sudden change in her demeanour.

"You." Angel threw her hands up in frustration, resiting the urge to pull her hair out or hit Jim across the back of the head. "You have no self preservation qualities!"

"I saved your lives!" Jim defended himself, his voice rising to meet hers.

"Without thinking of the repercussions!" Angel snapped back.

"You'd all be dead!"

Angel suddenly pressed her lips to Jim's to effectively stop the conversation. She was about to draw back when she felt him respond, putting his arm around her and pulling her closer. She could hear her heartbeat hammering in her ears and was sure that Jim would able to hear it to. They stayed locked in their embrace for a few moments before Angel drew back, both of them breathing heavily.

"Sorry." Angel apologised, shifting awkwardly on her feet, unsure of how Jim was going to react.

Jim nodded slowly, raking a hand through his hair. "Uh, that's okay."

"They want to transfer me from the Enterprise." Angel told him. It had been playing on her mind since she had found out the news, and she wasn't looking forward to telling anyone. Not after everything that had happened with Estelliana recently.

Jim gave her a confused look. She'd only just recently joined the crew and now they wanted her to leave. "Why?"

"My father wants me back on his ship and away from you, as he thinks you are reckless and have no regard for the rules." Angel explained, using her father's own words from when they had previously spoken. It had resulted in an argument that he had inevitably won.

Jim sighed heavily. "We still need to find Khan. There's been no word of him, or Stell."

Angel rested her hand lightly on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. "You are a good Captain, Jim. The Enterprise is lucky to have you."

Jim smiled down at her, watching her as she kissed his cheek, letting her hand drop back down to her side and her fringe to fall into her eyes. She flicked it out of her face and Jim noticed that it was a habit of hers, along with biting her lip when she didn't know what to say and the way her eyes narrowed before she was going to do something stupid. He didn't know why he noticed all of these things, he just did.

"I should go." Angel's voice brought him from his thoughts and she straightened up and smiled. "Good luck finding Stell."


	7. Augments

**Chapter Seven: Augments**

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**A/N: Another chapter, yay! Anyway, finally you'll get to meet some other Augments, and things are changing for both Angel and Stell...**

* * *

Stell sat a little away from the torpedoes with her knees curled to her chest, watching as Khan tapped things into the system. He clearly knew what he was doing – but then again, he had put them there in the first place. Stell hadn't wanted to be present, but Khan insisted she should meet the other Augments. Khan opened the first cryo-tube inside the torpedo he had deactivated and Stell jumped to her feet, suddenly alert.

A dark-haired young man pulled himself out of the cryo-tube, staggering slightly. Khan gripped his arm to steady to him. On close inspection, Stell guessed that he was in his early twenties. His eyes were a stormy grey and he was taller than Khan, perhaps 6'2 or 6'3. There was something about him that made her insides twist in trepidation.

"Khan," the young man gasped the word, the first he'd spoken in over three hundred years.

"Rin." Khan replied. There was no sort of warm welcome between the two, but rather a tension that Stell didn't understand. Obviously, the two did not get along. So why had Khan chosen to wake Rin?

"Who is she?" Rin glanced at Stell, frowning slightly. He didn't recognise the dark-haired girl in her mid to late teens, who examined him suspiciously.

"My daughter," Khan responded tersely.

"That's...Stell?" Rin knew that the girl had only been fourteen when she had been put into cryo-sleep, but she was definitely older than that now, more of a young woman than a child. The raven-haired girl's eyes widened.

"Do I know you?"

"He knows of you," Khan replied, before Rin had the chance to say anything. He shot the younger man a warning glance, causing Rin to nod slowly. He was the youngest of the Augments – well, the youngest that had been genetically engineered. Stell was the very youngest, but she had been naturally conceived by two Augment parents.

"I believe we met once."

"You can't be much older than me." Stell hadn't known that any of the others were so...young. There was something familiar about Rin, something that she couldn't quite place. But rather than putting her at ease, it made her feel more on edge than ever. She didn't trust him, and she doubted Khan did either.

"I'm twenty-three," Rin responded, his eyes roving over the dark-haired girl. She was a pretty thing, a little on the short side, but curvaceous. "You're closer to my age than you were before."

Khan noticed the way Rin's eyes lingered on his daughter. "Don't look at her that way, or I will rip your eyes out of your head."

"Apologies, sir." Rin cast around him, glancing at the other cryo-tubes. "My sister...is she...?"

"Would you like to wake her?" Khan inquired, although it had always been his intention to wake Rea as well. The two Talley siblings had always been a deadly pair – Rin the soldier, his sister the medic. He could not have one without the other.

"She would benefit our cause," Rin said, walking over to his sister's tube when Khan pointed it out. He hesitated, before tapping in the activation sequence. Stell walked over to her father, watching as Rin hauled up a flaxen-haired woman in her late twenties. By the grey eyes she shared, it had to be his sister.

"How many are you waking up?" Stell inquired.

"Just two." Khan watched the Talley siblings reunite with an impassive expression. He could cause chaos alone, but he needed help if he was to spark a war. Rin could help him with that. He had always been very good at starting conflicts.

"Can either of them get my memories back?" Stell whispered, almost afraid to ask. She was unsure of whether she _wanted_ to remember.

"Rea may be able to help you," Khan replied calmly, watching as Rin released his sister and strode over to the pair of them, grey eyes itching burning with impatience. He had always been restless, always craving action.

"Do we plan to wake the others?" he asked of Khan.

"Not yet." Khan responded, causing Rin to shift agitatedly on the balls of his feet, examining the other unopened torpedoes.

"Four of us won't be enough," Rin insisted, "We need more of us, Khan. If not wake the others, we should focus on trying to reproduce. I would breed with Stell. We need to up our numbers."

Khan's gaze would have chilled anyone to the bone, and his icy eyes made it certain what he thought of Rin's suggestion to use his daughter to reproduce. Stell watched Rin closely. His suggestion to breed with her disturbed her, but there had been nothing sleazy in his tone, just the tone of a man willing to do his duty.

"Stell knows her way around Starfleet. We can use her knowledge."

"Rin." Rea touched her brother's arm. "He's right."

He tugged away from her. "And if they kill us?"

A mirthless smile crossed Khan's lips. "They can try."

Stell felt somewhat claustrophobic, as if the presence of two other Augments was enough to hem her in. She headed into the control room, wondering who these people really were to her. She had another throbbing headache, which she had come to discern as memories trying to press their way out.

"What are you doing?" Khan inquired, causing Stell to spin around. She raked a hand through her dark hair and tried to remember how to breathe normally.

"I don't trust them."

Khan's jaw clenched and his eyes blazed. "Neither do I."

* * *

Angel raked her hair back as she made her way to Uhura's front door. She had a bottle of vodka in one hand and her bag in the other. She and Uhura had made plans before they had left the _Enterprise _to meet up and have a girl's night in. Angel couldn't help the grin that spread across her face as she knocked on the door, her equally as excited friend answering the door.

"Come in."

"I have vodka." Angel announced as she strode into the room.

Uhura laughed, shutting the door and leading Angel into the lounge room. "A girl's best friend in times like these."

Angel dumped the vodka on the lounge room table. "You and Spock fighting again?"

Uhura let out a heavy sigh as she lopped on the lounge. "Unfortunately."

Angel plopped down beside her, grabbing two glasses and pouring out some vodka. "Spill."

"He's just tense over this whole Augment thing." Uhura took a sip of vodka from the glass Angel handed to her, happy for the familiar burning sensation as the liquid slid down her throat.

"I guess Jim dying didn't help at all." Angel leant back, sipping her own glass.

"Oh, yeah. He was...emotional about it. Can you believe that? Spock, emotional." Uhura shook her head, she'd never once seen her boyfriend so emotional before for such a prolonged period of time.

"I think everyone was emotional about that." Angel pointed out, taking another sip of her vodka. "I kissed him."

Uhura raised her eyebrows. "Who, Jim?"

Angel nodded. "Twice."

"Huh. Nice, I think." Uhura giggled, the vodka beginning to take effect on both girls.

"It was. I actually really want to do it again." Angel groaned, downing the rest of the vodka in her glass and pouring herself some more. "God, I sound like a bloody teenager with a crush."

"We were all teenagers once. Chekov still is." Uhura grinned, referring to one of their youngest crewmembers.

"He has a thing for Stell." Angel smirked, stretching out.

"That's actually so adorable." Uhura laughed, stretching her legs out across Angel's lap.

Angel giggled along with her. "It really is."

"They're like...the babies." Uhura mused, giggling. "What about you and Jim?"

Angel gave her a questioning glance. "What about us?"

"Are you two going to date?" Uhura grinned, waggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner. She hoped that Angel would find herself a man, even if said man was Jim, who also happened to be their close friend and captain. Uhura actually thought that the two would make a cute couple.

"Uh. I actually don't know." Angel shrugged, she hadn't really thought about it. "I mean, I'd like to, but, yeah."

"But yeah?" Uhura poured them each another helping of vodka, glancing at the bottle that was now half gone.

"Well, I'm transferring onto the_ Collateral_. I also don't know if he sees me that way." Angel sighed, sipping her glass.

She always wondered when life had become so complicated. She preferred when it was simple and she was just a kid playing with her brother in the backyard. Where the worst issues she faced was grazing her knees while running around or skateboarding. She missed those days when she had been a carefree child with nothing to worry about and an imagination that never failed to amaze her.

"You're transferring?" Uhura's inquiry brought Angel from her thoughts.

Angel nodded before briefly explaining what was going on. "Yeah. My father requested I be transferred onto his ship. He doesn't like Jim. And there have been some family issues regarding my brother."

Uhura had never really heard Angel mention her brother, well, not in great detail anyway. The most Uhura knew was that he was part of Starfleet as well. "Your brother? What about him?"

"Apparently he'd gotten himself caught up with the wrong crowd." Angel didn't really care if she had to be honest. Her brother was an adult that could take care of himself. Besides, she didn't see how that impacted her father. The two barely spoke.

"Which crowd is he with?" Uhura wondered how much trouble Angel's brother was in, as the other girl hadn't really mentioned anything bad in regards to her brother. Only that he didn't get along with their father.

"Dad didn't say. I just know Josh is in trouble." Angel sighed, wishing her father had told her some more information. If anyone was going to get through to him, it would be her.

Uhura decided that the conversation needed a change in topic. She could see that Angel wasn't enjoying talking about her family. "What are you going to be doing on your father's ship?"

"Pretty much what I'm doing now." Angel stated, finishing her glass of vodka and reaching for another.

"Does he think what we're doing is too dangerous?" Uhura questioned, grabbing the bottle off Angel once she'd poured herself some more of the alcoholic liquid.

Angel rolled her eyes. "He just doesn't like Jim. Thinks he's irresponsible or whatever."

"Well, he is." Uhura pointed out

"I know." Angel agreed, letting out a heavy sigh.

* * *

_Rin caught Rhyne by the throat, lifting her off her feet. Stell froze, unsure what to do. She didn't possess the same strength, due to being naturally conceived. Rhyne was starting to turn blue, choking and prying at Rin's hands, but her eyes darted to her daughter._

_"Run," she choked, her tone growing firmer when Stell hesitated. "Run!"_

_Stell sprinted out of the doorway, charging down the hall. She knew that she had to find her father, the only person who could possibly hope to control Rin. She sprinted into his room to find him filing through records. He looked up, but immediately jumped to his feet when he saw his daughter's dishevelled, half-dressed state._

_"Stell? What's wrong?"_

_"It's Mother!" Stell cried. "Come quickly!"_

_Khan ran down towards Stell's room, with her following at not nearly the same pace. By the time she entered her room, out of breath, she saw her father kneeling on the ground, cradling her mother's motionless body. Stell froze, unwilling to believe it – yet there was no doubting by the marks around Rhyne's neck and her wide-open eyes that she was dead. There were tears in Khan's eyes, but there was also livid anger there when he looked up at his daughter._

_"Who did this?"_

Stell choked her way into a conscious state. It took her a few seconds to let go of her panic. Even then she clutched her knees to her chest and sobbed. Rhyne...her mother, her beautiful mother with golden blonde hair and dark green eyes like hers. Khan had loved her, Stell had seen it for herself. Yet there were so many questions that still dwelled within Stell's mind, questions that needed answering.

She had only been fourteen at the time of her mother's death, so it wouldn't have been long before she had been frozen in cryo-sleep. What had Rin done? Why did he murder her mother? Stell wasn't sure how to make sense out of any of this. All she knew was that she wanted to go back to the _Enterprise_, to pretend none of this had happened...well at least, that was what _some_ part of her wanted. The rest of her wasn't sure yet.


	8. So Cold

**Chapter Eight: So Cold**

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**A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews, favourites and follows! This chapter has a lot on both Stell's past, and Angel's relationships with her family. Please do review, it really does motivate us!**

* * *

"_Enterprise_, this is technician Estelliana." She was crouched in the control room, still unsure whether she was doing the right thing or not. Fortunately for Stell, she knew the _Enterprise's_ communication code, so she had been able to program it in. "I am currently on Kronos. I am going to relay coordinates."

"Stell, this is the _Enterprise._" She was somewhat relieved to hear Chekov's familiar Russian accent. "Standing by for coordinates."

"Chekov, he's woken two of the others," Stell stated, beginning to tap in their coordinates. Her heart was beating frantically in her chest, but she knew that she had to relay such information to Starfleet. Suddenly, someone grabbed her and hauled her to her feet, causing her to yelp. She watched as Khan shut off the transmission, turning to her angrily.

"What are you doing?" he demanded coldly.

"Communicating our location to the _Enterprise_," Stell replied, seeing no point in lying to him. Khan grabbed her by the arms and slammed her into the wall, causing her to grimace as the impact jolted up her spine.

"Do that again, and I will give you to Rin," Khan said in a low, dangerous voice. "I'll let him use you to breed an army."

"I know you wouldn't," Stell protested. She may not recognise Khan as her father just yet, but he was insistent upon her being his daughter – a factor she could use in her favour. "I'm your child."

"You tried to betray me," Khan hissed, tightening his grip on her arms. Stell knew that she would have bruises on her skin, for even though she was an Augment, he was far stronger than her.

"I want to go back," Stell pleaded. She didn't attempt to struggle, because she knew that it was pointless. "What is my purpose here? I know you wouldn't let Rin have me."

"I need you," Khan stated coolly, releasing her and taking a step back, examining his daughter critically. The thought that she would betray him was a painful one, but he had to keep reminding himself that Stell didn't remember what she was yet – she didn't remember the atrocities she had committed in the name of their family. "You are intelligent. You have helped me kill many people, whether you realise it or not."

"Did I help you kill my mother?" Stell shot at him sardonically. She wondered if her dreams were memories pushing their way to the surface, or if her paranoia of the unknown was fermenting itself into falsehoods.

"You are the reason she is dead," Khan said, without the hint of emotion in his voice. "She died for you."

Stell was not normally prone to violence, but the accusation made her clench her jaw and punch him in the face. She staggered at the force of her own blow, but Khan barely moved. He rubbed his chin and stared down at her, watching as angry tears welled within her dark green eyes.

"How dare you accuse me of being the reason she died. You are not my father. I hate you."

"Hate me all you want," Khan said, his face a mask reflecting none of the hurt he felt at her sharp words. "But I am still your father."

"I remember who killed her!" Stell cried in rage, before she lapsed into silence and bit her lip. Was sharing her nightmare a wise idea?

"Who then?" Khan arched an eyebrow.

"I...I don't..." she hastily tried to backtrack, "It was just a nightmare. If you remember how she died, I doubt it's real. How did she die? Remind me."

"No." Khan folded his arms over his chest. He was intrigued now. Were these dreams of Stell's her past memories finally beginning to surface? "Tell me about your dream."

"You woke him up," Stell whispered, her eyes locking with his. "Rin."

"Why do you think I dislike him?" Khan inquired, and his words caused Stell to stare at him in abject horror. She hadn't expected her nightmare to be fact, and even if it was, she didn't think Khan would have known. The knowledge he had deliberately woken her mother's murderer shocked her.

"You...you knew? How could you wake him up?! You had a choice of 71 others!"

"Estelliana..." Khan sighed heavily. He should have foreseen this sort of reaction. Of course the truth would upset her. Yet it was only a fragment, the very tip of an iceberg Stell should never have to remember.

"What?!" Tears trickled freely down the dark-haired girl's cheeks now. "Did you even love her? Did you tell him to kill her? Why did you say it was my fault? I want answers!"

"I did love her." Khan's voice grew heavy, and finally it was there, the emotion she had sought to elicit from him. "I told you it was your fault because she died to protect you. Everything we did, we did for you, Stell."

"But Rin...what was he doing, that she needed to die for me?" Stell questioned. "Was he going to kill me?"

Khan's expression darkened significantly. "Those are details you don't need to know."

"Yes, I do," she retorted stubbornly. "I need to know why my mother died. Why didn't you just kill him?"

"I couldn't," Khan stated, clenching his jaw. It had always been his greatest regret – that Rhyne and Stell were exposed to a threat, and he was too late to stop them from being hurt. Rhyne might have saved Stell from something horrible, but it had cost her life.

"Why not?" Stell demanded.

"I wasn't there when it happened!" Khan shouted, losing his cool completely. He watched as Stell stared at her feet and sighed heavily, raking a hand through his dark hair, so like his daughter's. "Why don't I make you a coffee and tell you? You'll need to sit down."

Stell nodded mutely, following Khan into the canteen. It was empty, much smaller than that on the _Enterprise._ The thought of her father doing something as domestic as making a coffee amused Stell somewhat. She sat down in a chair and curled her knees to her chest as Khan got the machine up and running.

"You could have killed him in his sleep. Is he really that exceptional a soldier?"

"Yes," Khan admitted. Rin was young, but he had shone through during situations where he hadn't thought victory to be possible. He was young and he was dangerous and above all, he was cruel. "He is a very exceptional soldier."

Stell hesitated. "Why did he kill my mother?"

"Because he wanted you." Khan slid the coffee across the table to Stell, sitting across from her. Everything he did seemed to be with an effortless grace, something she most certainly hadn't inherited. "There are few of us, as you know. He wanted to create more. You two were the youngest of us. It seemed logical for you to have children."

Stell frowned, not quite comprehending. "He killed my mother because she didn't want me to have children?" When Khan shook his head, her frown deepened. "Then...why?"

"You were fourteen at the time." Khan clasped his hands together. "We were dying out."

Stell thought she understood now. She and Rin were the youngest and therefore had the best chance of conceiving children – the same way in which Stell herself had been conceived by her parents. Khan couldn't have been any older than Rin was currently when Stell had been born.

"So...I was meant to breed with him."

"Yes." Khan inclined his head. "When you were of age."

"Then why did he kill her?" Stell persisted. She understood her father's hesitance and knew it must be an unpleasant story, but she would rather know the truth than stay in the dark, not knowing truth from lies.

"He tried to force himself on you."

Stell clutched at her mug and suddenly felt that she couldn't breathe. So that was why her clothes had been ripped and her hair a mess in her dream. Her mother had been killed stopping Rin's attempt to rape her. She felt as though there was something tightening around her body, stopping her from taking in air. The pressure on the mug grew so intense that it smashed in her hands.

"But...I was fourteen. He was twenty-three. He...he didn't actually..."

Khan shook his head. If Rin had raped Stell, there would be nothing stopping him from killing the younger man.

"No. Your mother got in the way of him hurting you."

"I ran, didn't I?" Stell's voice was bitter as she examined her hands, burned red from the hot coffee and bloody from the shards of china. "I ran while he killed her."

"You came looking for me." Khan didn't like reminiscing about that day, but he found himself with little choice. "Everything went to hell. I ran down to your room and found your mother dead."

Stell swallowed the lump in her throat. "Does Rin know you're aware of what happened?"

"No." Khan thought if Rin knew, he would have left long before now. He needed Rin kept in the dark. Once the young man had played his part, Khan would end him.

"We should kill him," Stell suggested, still staring at her hands. "Bones says you're five times stronger than a normal human. Am I?"

Khan shook his head. "No. Two or three times stronger."

"When I hit you, did it hurt more than when Captain Kirk hit you?" Stell inquired, flexing her hands. It was strange to think she had such power flowing through her veins, and she had never even been aware of it until recently.

"Definitely."

Stell looked across at him. "I still don't remember you. They altered my memories. They would have done something surgically."

"You are already remembering things," Khan reminded her, although they certainly weren't things he wanted her to remember.

"Will Rea have to operate on me?" Stell asked. She wondered whether she'd undergone an operation in the first place.

"If you wish her to." Khan leaned back in his chair, observing his daughter and wondering what sort of choice she would make. "It may be the fastest way for you to regain your memories. Do you want your memories back?"

"I don't know." Stell's voice was suddenly small. She wondered how many other horrors were in her past. Did she want to remember what it was like when Rin had tried to force himself on her? "I miss my friends. You don't understand how frightening all of this is."

"You keep choosing them over me," Khan said, frustration beginning to creep into his usually cool tone. "Why are they so important to you?"

"I have made friends there," Stell informed him. She remembered Angel and Chekov, among some of the other crewmembers she had befriended. Now they were most likely dead. She raked her hair back.

"Are they more important than your family?" Khan demanded, the ice beginning to creep back into his tone.

"I don't even remember my family," Stell admitted.

"_I am your family_!" Khan roared, slamming his fist into the table hard enough to make it break clean in two. Stell flinched and scrambled to her feet. She was suddenly afraid of this man who called himself her father. She had assumed they had reached peace over her mother, but apparently not. "Stop denying the truth."

"I don't remember!" Stell cried, clenching her hands into fists. "I can't see past what the Admiral put in my head!"

"I am right here in front of you!" Khan bellowed, his eyes flashing with fury at her continued denial of who she was. "I am as real as everything else around you!"

"But all I see is a man who took lives for the sake of vengeance!" Stell found herself unwilling to back down. She felt the power throbbing in her veins and she knew that she was everything Khan claimed her to be. "I don't remember the man who raised me. I don't _remember_ and I'm frightened!"

She turned on her heel, intending to walk away, but Khan caught her arm and dragged her back, spinning her around to face him. Was he angry because she was talking back, or frustrated because she could not accept him as her sole surviving parent whereas she could accept her mother?

"Don't turn your back on me," he ordered coldly, "You need to learn your place aboard this ship, Estelliana."

"And what is that?" The words escaped before she could stop them. "Crawling beneath your feet like Rea and Rin?"

"Do not test me." Khan gripped her by the neck. Why could she not see what she was? Why did she insist on behaving as if humans meant more to her than he did? He was her _father_. She spat in his face.

"You. Are. Not. My. Family."

Khan hurled her to the ground, causing her to groan in pain. He immediately felt guilty, for he had never abused his child in the past and did not want to hurt her. All he wanted was for her to see that he cared about her more than her so-called friends at Starfleet ever would. He just wanted the real Stell to break loose.

"Perhaps I'll let Rin pay you a visit."

Stell stared up at him with wide, terrified eyes. "You would actually do that?"

Khan wanted to kneel down in front of her and assure her that he would never let anything hurt her. But until she understood that she was his daughter, he could not truly play the part of the father.

"If it would make you learn your place, yes."

"You're nothing but a monster," Stell spat, curling her knees and making no attempt to push herself up. If her father would really offer her freely to the man who tried to rape her when she had been fourteen, he was no father at all. Khan's eyes darkened and he stalked from the room, but Stell remained where she was, rocking to herself and trying to hold back tears.

* * *

Angel let out a heavy sigh as she threw some more things into her bag. She hated packing. To her, it was the worst thing in the world. She glanced around her bedroom, sad to be leaving her home again. By now she was used to it, but it still made her sad. She had so many memories here.

A selection of photos in the corner of her lounge room caught her eye and she walked over to them. Most of them were family photos. One of her and her brother in a tree. Another of her whole family before her mother had died, but the one that caught her attention the most was the one of her and a tall dark haired guy.

She remembered the day that her older brother, Josh, had taken the photo of her and her previous boyfriend Kyle. Like her, Kyle had been part of Starfleet. He had been three years older then her and the two had met through her brother. Angel and Kyle had dated for four years before he'd been killed in combat and she'd never been able to bring herself to get rid of the photo. Angel was startled out of her thoughts when there was a knock on her door.

"Come in." She directed at the door as she began to brush her hair, tying it up in a ponytail. She looked over her shoulder to see it was her brother who had walked into her small apartment. "Josh?"

"Hey." Josh greeted, hugging Angel back tightly when she threw her arms around her older brother.

Angel drew back, looking her brother up and down. Nothing seemed to have changed, except that he looked a little older then she remembered. "What are you doing here?"

Josh shrugged, watching his sister move about the place cleaning. "I wanted to see you off."

Angel flitted by him, kissing his cheek as she moved past. "Which ship are you working on at the moment?"

"Not sure, they're pending me at the moment. I'll get a transfer within the week." Josh told her, although he wasn't really looking forward to it.

Angel nodded, turning around to face him. "Where were you working?"

"_U.S.S Dynasty_." Josh flopped back on the couch, examining one of the many books his sister had been reading on psychology.

Angel sat down beside him, kicking his legs when he put them up on the coffee table, making them drop. "I wish I could've stayed on the _Enterprise_, to be honest."

Josh glared at her playfully, dumping her book. "Why'd you transfer?"

"Dad requested it.' Angel informed him, knowing that Josh and her father were currently not getting along.

"Dad." Josh rolled his eyes at the mention of their father.

"I know. He's so..." Angel sighed, unsure of what word to use to describe their father.

Josh grinned at her. "Overbearing."

"You can say that again..." Angel shook her head, leaning against her brother as he put an arm around her.

Josh kissed the top of her head. In his eyes his little sister was always going to be the same child who would run around playing in mud and seemingly always having grazed knees. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too." Angel smiled, liking that her brother was showing his softer side for once.

A silence settled over the two as they sat on the lounge. Ever since Josh had joined Starfleet, the two had barely spent time together. It didn't help that Angel had joined Starfleet a few years later. She loved working, but she knew Josh only did it to keep their father happy. Josh had always been the glue to keep the family together, but that responsibility had shifted to Angel in recent years.

"Has Dad said anything about me?" Josh asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

"Just that you got yourself in some kind of trouble." Angel told him, shifting so that she could look up at Josh.

Josh nodded, "It was nothing."

"You sure?" Angel pressed, not wanting her brother to get hurt.

Josh sighed heavily, "He's being over dramatic."

Angel pushed a stray bit of hair out of her face. "What exactly happened?"

"I made some friends he didn't like." Josh explained, and Angel nodded in understanding. "They're pretty cool."

"Oh? They hot?" Angel grinned, winking playfully.

Josh scoffed, ruffling her hair. "How would I know? He's about your age, the ringleader."

"Huh." Angel nodded.


	9. Taint In The Blood

**Chapter Nine: Taint In The Blood**

* * *

**A/N: Hey everyone, the rating in this chapter has gone up to M. Nothing too bad, just some violence and attempted rape. Not so many reviews for the last chapter...if there's something you don't like, please let us know. Your opinions are always valued, so it'd be nice if you reviewed :)**

* * *

Stell paced the infirmary agitatedly, still wondering if she had made the right decision. Perhaps if her memories were restored she could finally choose a side, and end the growing conflict within her. Rea wandered into the infirmary and Stell glanced at her, playing with her hands as she tried to pretend that she wasn't nervous about the process. From what she'd overheard Rea and Khan discussing, it was a difficult one.

"Do you want to do this?" Rea inquired, noticing how apprehensive the young girl was.

"I...think so," Stell said uncertainly. She lay herself down on the bed, but immediately sat back up when Rin sauntered into the room, hands in his pockets. Khan followed close behind him.

"Can I watch?" Rin inquired.

Stell glanced at Rea and shook her head vigorously. "I don't want him to watch."

"You're a kid," Rin stated dismissively, "You don't get a say."

Rea turned on him. "She's a patient and wants you out, so get out."

Rin scowled like a petulant child and stalked out, making Stell bite her lip. Did Rea know what Rin had tried to do to her, all those years ago? She lay back and closed her eyes, clenching her hands into fists despite her attempts to relax. Rea attached plastic strips to either side of her head, probably to monitor her brainwaves. Stell felt the sharp pain of a needle being pushed into the back of her neck...and everything faded into darkness.

* * *

_Stell knew from a young age that she was different, even among her own kind. Her father, Khan Noonien-Singh, was their leader. Everyone listened to and respected him. They all had to remain united, for they had been created to be a better species, a superior species. Stell didn't always feel superior, though. When she had been little, she had cried when Rin made her watch him rip the wings off a butterfly. She was meant to be strong and cold and ruthless...yet she wasn't._

_Rin was possibly her closest friend. He was nine years her elder, the last of the genetically engineered Augments. Stell was naturally conceived, the product of a passionate relationship between her father, Khan, and her mother, Rhyne. They balanced out – her father was all harsh angles and callous coldness, while her mother would be more prone to smiles and tender moments when they were alone. _

_She bestowed those smiles upon Rin often, for although Stell did not remember, she was told of his heroic deed in her toddler years. One of the scientists who had created them did not approve of naturally conceived Augment. He had desired Rin and his sister Rea, the only two Augments developed from a single person's DNA, to be the last of their kind. Rhyne's pregnancy had been unexpected – the baby resulting from it even more so. The parents were young, Khan being twenty-two and Rhyne herself on the cusp of twenty at Stell's birth._

_The scientist, Dr Martinez, had taken it upon himself to dispose of what he perceived to be a weakness. Khan and Rhyne were both busy with intense training, while their three-year-old child was in her nursery. Dr Martinez had attempted to end the toddler's life, but twelve-year-old Rin had stopped him, shooting him dead before he could so much as press a pillow over Stell's face. That event had earned him Khan's favour, and Khan's favour was much more than most could ever hope to achieve._

* * *

_Stell was ten years old when their reign finally came. Khan became drunk on his own power, as did many of the others. The Augments took control of the human race, and for a child her age, Stell understood far more than she should. As time passed and their numbers began to dwindle, Khan promised her to Rin, who would breed with her when Stell reached the age of eighteen years old. At this time, Rin was already nineteen years old and one of the most powerful warriors Khan commanded._

_By the time she was twelve, Stell was designing weapons that far surpassed many of human design. Khan had been impressed with her talent, and reported her fit for battle. The little girl who had cried when insects were tampered with was sent out with Rin and his men to fight during the Battle of Paris in 1994. Sitting in the helicopter and playing with the small gun Rin had shoved at her, Stell suddenly felt very vulnerable._

_"You look scared." Rin crouched in front of her, tilting her chin up so that she could meet his stormy grey eyes. "It's alright. We all have to fight our first battle at some point. I was the same age you are now when I first killed someone."_

_"Do you really think I can kill someone?" Stell regarded him curiously. She was not a weak human child to flinch at the sight of blood, but neither did she know whether she was capable of taking a life, especially at her tender age._

_"All you need to do is make sure that cannon of yours works." Rin offered her a grin, and she couldn't help but smile in return. He was a battle-hardened commander with many skirmishes under his belt, and more kills than most of the other Augments put together. She trusted whole-heartedly in his judgement._

_So when Rin and his men leapt from the helicopters on ropes, twirling down with effortless grace to engage pathetic human enemy soldiers, Stell knew that she had to do her duty. She would be a true soldier, like the rest of them. She crossed to the other side of the helicopter, gripping the handrails for support as the craft lurched dangerously. _

_Admittedly, she'd needed a bit of help with the cannon and the explosive she would now insert into it, but Zeke had been more than willing to teach her. Taking the bomb from her pocket, she activated it and set it within the heart of the cannon, before yanking the lever back and firing it at the Eiffel Tower. Stell counted down on her fingers as she waited for the bomb to activate. Three, two, one..._

_The Eiffel Tower exploded in a shower of metal. Augments still fought on the ground, easily achieving the victory they had come here for. Inside the helicopter, taking great care not to look down at the space that yawned below her, Stell clutched the handrail closest to the end and peered out at her work. The Eiffel Tower died with a deafening screech, and a triumphant smile spread across Stell's lips of its own accord as secondary bombs went off all throughout Paris. She was victorious._

* * *

_"Rin?" Fourteen-year-old Stell looked up from the book she had been going through to find that her father's best soldier, the youngest of the Augments who were genetically created, leaning in her doorway. "I wasn't expecting you."_

_"I know you weren't." Rin swaggered over to Stell and she marked her place in her book and sat up straight. Something was off, she could feel it. Rin sat beside her on the bed and Stell couldn't meet his eyes, instead fiddling agitatedly with her hands. "You know of your duty, don't you, Stell? Our duty."_

_"You mean that we have to reproduce," Stell murmured, feeling a flush come over her cheeks. She had never so much as kissed a boy – Khan had seen to that. She was seen as Rin's property alone, and of course no one else would touch her because of it. She jumped as Rin took her hand in his. His skin was cold to the touch._

_"There are so few of us left, Stell. You are only young. If we started breeding now, you would have lots of child-bearing years still ahead of you…"_

_"I'm fourteen," Stell interjected, snatching her hand from his. She understood the implications, but although she was starting to develop a woman's body, she didn't feel that she was ready to take such a big jump. Surely Rin should understand, surely he still viewed her as a child. "You should talk to my parents about…"_

_"I have." Rin moved fast, and in an instant, Stell was pinned down on the bed and he was on top of her, pressing her down. "They said no. But you are to be mine, and I say yes."_

_Rin pressed his lips to her and she froze, uncertain of what to do. Yet Rin's actions were hurried and unromantic. Clearly he was apprehensive; worrying that one of her parents would enter the room. His lips trailed along her jaw, down her neck. His cold hands crawled like spiders underneath her shirt. Stell made a muffled noise of protest and turned her face, squirming beneath him. Rin drew back slightly and his expression was one of annoyance._

_"Keep still," he hissed, impatiently ripping her shirt open. She cried out and he slapped her across the face. "Be quiet. You know, this would be easier for you if you just cooperated. It will only be painful if you struggle."_

_Stell's cheek throbbed from where he'd struck her. She tried to hold back tears as Rin shoved her bra down, his mouth descending on her breasts. It felt wrong and uncomfortable. Still impatient, Rin tugged his shirt over his head. He ran a hand up Stell's leg, shoving up her skirt so it was bunched around her waist. She sobbed and struggled, but he slapped her again, hands busily working at unzipping his pants._

_The door swung open and Rhyne, Stell's mother, froze. Rin was straddling Stell, in the act of undoing his pants. Stell lay beneath him nearly naked, a red mark on her cheek and tears welling in her eyes. Rhyne immediately understood what was happening and she lunged at Rin with a cry of fury, throwing him to the ground and delivering a sharp kick to his ribs. On the bed, Stell scrambled to sit up, tugging her clothes into place._

_"How dare you touch my daughter!" Rhyne exclaimed, dark green eyes flashing with rage. "You are disgusting! We told you that she was too young."_

_"She's old enough," Rin sneered, pushing himself to his feet. He lunged at Stell, hands reaching for her, and she screamed and staggered back. Only Rhyne stepped in the way, punching Rin hard enough to break his nose._

_"You will not touch her again!"_

* * *

_"Get up."_

_Stell woke with a start. Since the incident with Rin, she had been sleeping in the same room as her father, filled with self-loathing and fear. She worried what would happen if Rin came back for her. If she was stronger, if she had grown into her abilities, she would have been able to stop Rin and her mother wouldn't have sacrificed herself to face his wrath. Like twisting a knife into her flesh, the thoughts pushed the guilt deeper inside her. Yet it wasn't Khan who stood over her, or even Rin._

_"Micah?" Stell rubbed her eyes, staring at the man and the halo of light that surrounded him. He nodded fervently and took her by the wrist, hauling her to her feet._

_"Your father sent me," Micah stated, observing the girl closely. "Dress quickly and warmly. I'll be waiting outside. He says it's urgent."_

_He swept back into the corridor and closed the door, leaving Stell to fumble around for a pair of tracksuit pants and a long-sleeved shirt. If Khan wanted her so badly, why had he not come to get her himself? She swept her hair back into a simple ponytail, realising the need for haste. Since Rhyne's death, Khan had not been the same, and as a result that had lost the Eugenics Wars all but officially. Khan wouldn't admit to it, and Stell wouldn't be the one to show him the harsh truth._

_Micah led her a winding path through the facility, through a door that was always locked and down a series of stairs she never knew existed. He punched a code into security pad beside another door – and Stell gasped at what lay beyond it. The basement was huge, and in rows were long cylindrical silver pods. Khan stood at the far end, grouped with close to a hundred others. Her hands shook as she crossed over to her father._

_"What is going on?" she asked, catching him by the arm. "Father, what's happening? It's past midnight, couldn't this wait?"_

_"You can thank Tristan for this," Khan sighed heavily, raking a hand through his hair. He tugged himself away from Stell and raised his voice to address all of those present. "My loyal friends. We are losing this war against humanity, as the pathetic insects seem determined to assert themselves as custodians of this planet. Therefore, I say we find a new planet on which we will colonise, and which we can truly call home."_

_Stell felt herself growing cold, and she glanced over at Tristan. This had been his idea? Tristan was known for his intelligence, but was this really the best idea? Yet no one else seemed to share her doubts, for they were all uttering affirmations under their breaths._

_"Tonight, we board the S.S Botany Bay and depart this planet. We will move the cryo-pods aboard and will be put into cryo-sleep. We may not emerge for decades, or centuries. But when we do, it will be to a glorious new era. There are eighty-five of us here tonight, and together, we can start anew."_

_Stell caught Rin gazing at her across the room; she immediately averted her eyes. For while the others chanted their agreement, and Khan's smug smile assured her that they were indeed going to be frozen in cryo-sleep aboard the S.S Botany Bay, Stell was frightened. The thought of space, of a dreamless sleep from which she might not wake, terrified her. But it was her duty to obey. She would do her duty._

* * *

Angel flopped back on her bed, staring at the ceiling of the unfamiliar ship. She glanced around her room, already feeling uncomfortable. She hated being assigned to new ships were she had to make new friends and get used to how people worked. That was one of the reasons that she was so angry with her father. She didn't understand why he always had to be so controlling.

Angel glanced at her door as she heard someone walk in, noticing that her visitor was her father. "Hello, father."

"Angel. Good to see you on board." Angel's father, Daniel Blackmore smiled. It had been a few years since the two had been around each other, resulting in there being quite a bit of tension in the room.

"I'm not happy to be here." Angel remarked, still unpacking her things. She heard her father sigh heavily, whirling around to face him. "What?"

Daniel crossed his arms over his chest, examining his daughter. "I didn't think you'd mind it."

"I was happy on the Enterprise." Angel sat down on her bed, crossing her legs. She was yet to change into her uniform and her hair was spread wildly around her face.

"Jim Kirk is an irresponsible captain." Daniel sat down beside her. He wished that his children would see that the things he did for them were to protect them.

"He saved our lives by sacrificing his health. He's a better captain then you give him credit for and I was happy to be part of his crew." Angel pushed her hair out of her face, glancing at her father. Sometimes she couldn't help but be infuriated with him.

"He completely disregards Starfleet regulations." Daniel pointed out. He had always been one to follow the rules and despised those who didn't.

"And it's kept his crew alive." Angel pointed out, knowing that he father couldn't argue that to be untrue.

Daniel sighed. He wished that Angel wasn't as stubborn as her mother at times. "I keep my crew alive, too."

"And bored." Angel began braiding her hair.

Daniel gave his daughter a stern look. "Angel, Starfleet isn't about having fun."

"Father, Starfleet isn't about forcing your child to do something they don't want to do." Angel smiled sweetly, finishing braiding her hair.

Daniel was beginning to grow increasingly frustrated with Angel. "I think you're exaggerating. Haven't you seen some of the examples of great fathers we've had recently? Admiral Marcus nearly killed his own daughter. That Khan kidnapped his own child and vanished."

"Why do you assume that I want you unhappy?" Daniel sighed.

He didn't know how it had happened, but over the years both of his remaining children had grown cold and hostile towards him. All he ever did was try and do right by them, but since their mother had died, he had found it increasingly harder to be able to take time off work to try and take care of them, especially considering that Josh was nearly ten years older then Angel. A part of him wished they would stop blaming him for their younger sister's death.

"Because I repeatedly told you I didn't want to transfer." Angel's angry tone drew him from his thoughts

"It is for your own safety." Daniel reasoned, clenching his jaw when Angel rolled her eyes, getting to her feet. "Don't be such a child." When Angel's frosty demeanour didn't soften, Daniel decided a change in subject was in order. "We are going to Kronos."

Angel turned to face him, confusion evident on her face. "Why?"

"Earlier this morning, we received a distress call from a girl claiming to be the missing ensign Estelliana Crux." Daniel explained, knowing that Angel had worked with the young girl when she had been on the _Enterprise._

"She's on Kronos?" Angel's confusion continued to grow.

"She says that Khan has woken two others and plans to start a war. She has given her coordinates." Daniel explained to her, watching as realisation began to dawn on her features. "The other two are a soldier and a medic. As if Khan himself wasn't bad enough..."

Angel crossed her arms over her chest. "How do you plan to fight him?"

"With firepower." Daniel raised an eyebrow, thinking that was the most logical plan of action and that she would have thought of that already.

Angel shook her head. "He is smarter then you."

"The girl is allegedly intelligent, and she is on our side." Daniel pointed out, knowing that Stell had the opportunity to help them a lot.

"He is smarter than her too."


	10. Fragmented

**Chapter Ten: Fragmented**

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**A/N: Alright, so here's the next chapter. Hate to sound so pernickety, but we probably won't update until we get about 80 reviews. There's just been a lack lately, and we're not sure if you don't like where the story is going, or if there's another reason. So please do review, we really appreciate it when you do.**

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Stell's eyes snapped open and she winced slightly as Rea withdrew the needle from her neck, disconnecting her from the machine she'd been wired to. She sat up and raked back her dark hair. Khan was right; she had helped him kill people before. The knowledge that she had been responsible for so many deaths was horrific to her. At just twelve years old, she had become a killer.

"Are you alright?" Rea asked, looking a bit concerned.

"Just...a lot of memories." Stell curled herself up, resting her chin on her knees. Perhaps the most horrific of all was remembering Rin's attempt to rape her, and her mother's death resulting from that. Starfleet had deprived her of a lifetime of memories and yet still, she wasn't certain which side she chose.

"Rea, leave us," Khan commanded, and the blonde Augment walked out as Stell rested her head on her arms. She remembered him now, and understood that he truly was her father. He crossed over to her, sitting beside her on the bed.

"You said you would give me to Rin," Stell said in a small voice, recalling her father's earlier comment. Perhaps he hadn't meant it, but the threat had still hurt. "After what he did to Mother. You said if I didn't listen to you, you would let him rape me."

Khan's eyes flashed. "I would _never_ let him rape you."

"Then why did you say you would let him have me?" Stell persisted, desperate to understand. Despite her horrific memories, she didn't remember anything that indicated Khan felt anything but hatred towards Rin. The younger Augment had been allowed to live...which made Stell believe he must serve a greater purpose.

"Because, I would honour our deal."

"There's still a deal in place now?" Stell asked. She couldn't be shocked if a moon had collided with them at that instant. Rin had murdered Rhyne, her mother, who she understood her father had loved dearly. "What is that deal?"

"For you and Rin to have children."

He spoke without emotion, but Stell knew that Khan was used to practising not showing it. As the leader of the Augments, he had often appeared ruthless. She closed her eyes and recounted the names of some of the others. Rin, Rea, Zeke, Tristan, Miri, Caden...

"No. I refuse. You could convince him otherwise. There are other women frozen down there you could wake up. One of them could breed with him."

Stell was surprised by the defiance – and coldness – in her own voice. This was not little Estelliana Crux, sweet and demure, who had spent three years studying at the Academy. This was Estelliana Noonien-Singh, the girl who had participated in the near-destruction of Paris when she had been only twelve years old. The two were very different, and yet they were the same.

"My decision is final," Khan stated coolly, and Stell knew there must be more to it. Her father would not promise her to a man who had murdered her mother and tried to hurt her without good reason. There was something he wasn't telling her.

"You could just kill him. You hate him."

"I need him," Khan sighed heavily, and there was the truth. "I'll kill him if I learn I don't have a use for him. I'll kill him if he hurts you."

"You _know_ he will!" Stell cried, her temper getting the better of her. Her green eyes burned with angry, unshed tears. "The father I once knew would put himself in harm's way rather than let someone hurt me. But I see now that he died along with my mother."

Khan clenched his jaw, the painful memories digging in like barbs. "Your mother's death affected me greatly."

"You blame me for it." Stell folded her arms, hugging herself tightly as though it could possibly be some form of comfort. She reached out for him then, needing more than just her own warmth. Her hand sought his. "Which is why you no longer care. Please, all I want is to make my own choice about who I have children with."

"Stell." It hurt to see how much the topic distressed her, to see how afraid the prospect of Rin made her. But Khan needed Rin, and he needed a way to control him. Stell was the key, and by waving such a prize in front of his once-loyal soldier, Khan hoped that he could control Rin long enough to accomplish the war he desired. Once it was over, they could rule Earth – or whichever Federation planet they wanted – and he wouldn't need Rin. "Enough."

"Twenty-one," Stell begged, "Wait until I am twenty-one at least."

"Fine." Khan exhaled deeply, watching as Stell wrenched her hand from his as though it was physically painful to touch him. He understood that his actions upset her, but he also could not tell her that Rin would be long dead before he could touch her. Her fear needed to be real, or Rin would suspect something was amiss. "At least you have your memories back."

"It does not mean I can love you," Stell murmured. Her words pierced like a knife, and Khan felt as though he had lost Rhyne all over again. Would she ever be able to see him truly as a father? Would she ever be able to _love_ him?

"I know that."

* * *

"Rin. What are you doing here?" Stell couldn't help but tense up as she walked out of the control room to see her former tormentor standing there waiting for her. He practically sauntered over to her, and Stell knew that he was just as arrogant as he had been before they had frozen him.

"Thought I'd say hello."

"Well, hello." Stell crossed her arms over her chest impatiently, watching as a grin suffused Rin's features. "What are you grinning about?"

"Just thinking." Rin closed the space between them. There was barely even a metre's space, and Stell was beginning to feel claustrophobic – yet she had known there was something wrong about Rin, even before she'd gotten her memories back. Now, she was only even more afraid of him than she had been before. "Khan told me that the deal was still on."

"So?" Stell lifted her chin up, brazenly meeting his stormy grey eyes. "It's not for another few years. I wish I was back to being fourteen, just so it could be even longer."

"I'm not that bad." Rin's eyes swept over her curvaceous form. She certainly wasn't fourteen years old anymore. The change wasn't just physical, but also mental. Stell had lost the blatant fear that had once crossed her face when she looked at him.

"No." Her voice grew biting and harsh. "Because you never tried to rape me, and you never killed my mother."

"I'm not bad in bed," Rin stated with a lazy smirk, causing Stell to roll her eyes. He truly was like an adolescent male, despite being twenty-three years old. Perhaps some time in the ice had frozen important parts of his brain.

"You've been in cryo-sleep for 300 years," she reminded him crisply, "I doubt your performance would be spectacular."

"Better than most." Rin was still smirking, as if she would succumb to him simply because he bragged about his prowess. "Maybe you could find out for yourself."

Her eyes narrowed. "Just because I'm a few years older doesn't mean I want you any more than I did before."

"I'll make you want me." Rin's tone dropped into something dark, and a chill ran down Stell's spine as he stepped close to her. She backed into the wall, but drew herself up to full height as if that made a difference. "You'll see."

"Do I amuse you?" Stell inquired sharply.

"Yes." Rin planted his arms either side of her head, preventing her from escaping. "You think you scare me. Well, you don't."

"But I do. Rin, get out." Khan stood in the doorway, a completely cold expression on his face at the sight of Rin intimidating his daughter. The younger Augment scowled and swept out of the room, and Stell sighed in relief. "Did he hurt you?"

"No." Stell shook her head vigorously. She did not want her father to believe she was a helpless little girl. "Just repeatedly bragged about his sexual prowess. I told you that we should kill him."

"Not yet," Khan stated.

"Not yet?" Stell repeated, her eyes widening slightly. "So you agree we will?"

"If needed." Khan seemed somewhat distracted, but Stell had a definite way of keeping his attention. She had not been lurking around in the control room for no reason at all. Of course, a soldier like Rin wouldn't question finding her there. It was almost lucky that Khan had not been the one to happen upon her.

"Father, do you love me?" she asked.

"Yes," Khan replied in a heartbeat. How could he not? She was his daughter. He had created her, he and Rhyne. Yet Rhyne was dead now, the only reminder of her existence in this girl standing before him, with his wife's green eyes and sweet nature.

"Then I have to ask you to forgive me." Stell swallowed hard, bracing herself for whatever came next. "I sent our coordinates. I'm sorry."

"What?!" Khan demanded, his anger rising immediately. He had thought Stell regaining her memories would put her on their side indefinitely, but now it seemed that her two conflicting lives melding had done nothing but make her even more confused as to which side she belonged on. "They are going to kill us, Estelliana."

"Which is why I told you," Stell insisted. She didn't want the _Enterprise_ crew to hurt Khan. Perhaps Rin, but that was different. All she wanted was…well, that was the problem. She didn't quite know what she wanted anymore, or where she belonged. "So that you, Rin and Rea could leave."

"No." Khan's eyes were cold and Stell cringed inwardly at the disappointment on her father's face. "I have a far better idea."

* * *

Angel gripped onto the railing hard as the ship rocked violently. She had managed to make it onto the bridge without falling, but she figured her luck would run out soon enough. "What's going on?"

"_Armageddon_ has ventured dangerously close to enemy territory. We are now being bombarded by Klingons as we offer back-up. Vincent is an idiot..." Daniel explained o his daughter before barking out another few orders.

Angel glanced at the screens, looking around to see that Klingons surrounded their whole ship. Everyone on the bridge was thrown sideways as a large explosion emanated from the engine room, the whole ship beginning to lose power. Angel pushed herself to her feet, moving over to the communication controls where their communication officer was unconscious. She pushed them out of the chair before sitting down, strapping herself in; glad she'd often watched Uhura do this.

"Dammit!" Daniel cursed under his breath as the he watched the power levels beginning to fail.

"The ships going down." One of the other crewmembers who was part of the command unit stated.

Angel glanced at her father as he tried to pull up the engineering sector. She bit her lip before pressing a few buttons, sending out a distress call. "This is the U.S.S _Collatera_l requesting immediate back-up. We are receiving enemy fire and have lost power to our engines."

"Why is the _Armageddon_ not responding?!" Daniel yelled in frustration.

"Captain, there is a distress call coming through from the U.S.S _Collateral._" Spock told Jim as he stood by Uhura. They'd been tailing the _Armageddon_ and _Collateral_, but had kept their distance to not draw attention form Khan's crew.

"Bring them up." Jim ordered, settling back in his chair.

Spock hailed the _Collateral_, waiting agitatedly for a response. Angel responded to their call, bringing them up. She glanced at her father who was still trying to hail the engineers, watching as he stopped what he was doing and turned his focus to Jim.

"_Collateral_, this is the _Enterprise_. We are within the area and can be at Kronos within fifteen minutes." Jim told them, glancing at Sulu and Chekov who had already put them on course.

Angel shook her head, glancing at the damage report that was flashing on the screen. "We don't have fifteen minutes."

Daniel sighed heavily, raking a hand through his hair. "That will have to do. Vincent's line is blocked. He must be contacting someone else."

Angel lurched forward as the engine rooms were his again, this time the hit succeeding in completely destroying them. Angel glanced around as the ship began to lose power, the communication line cutting out.

Daniel glanced around, cursing under his breath. "Shit... Everyone, prepare for emergency landing."

"Yes, sir." Resounded throughout the bridge as everyone began to strap themselves into their seats.

Spock watched as Uhura tried to hail the _Collateral _again. "Sir, we've lost contact with the Collateral."

"Ah, shit..." Jim cursed, watching as his crew worked furiously to try to bring the connection back.

Angel tapped in a few things as the auxiliary power kicked in. "We've lost most of the life support systems. There's sever damage to the engine rooms and the hull is breached."

"No chance of power being diverted to evacuation vessels?" Daniel questioned, glancing over to where his daughter was frantically working.

Spock watched as Uhura tried to raise them again. "U.S.S _Collateral_, this is the U.S.S _Enterprise_, do you copy?"

"None." Angel answered her father, glancing at the communications equipment as she heard Uhura's familiar voice. "This is the _Collateral_. We've regained power to the bridge."

"This is the Enterprise, we will be within reach in approximately seven minutes." Jim informed them, praying to whatever gods were out there that they'd make it to the _Collateral's _position in time.

Angel gripped onto the control panel tightly as she was thrown sideways, the ship taking another hit. "The ship can't handle any more damage. You won't make it to our position in time."

Jim raked a hand through his hair. "There isn't any more we can do. I'm sorry, we're travelling as fast as we can."

"All we can do now is brace ourselves." Daniel told his crew as he gripped the arms of his chair until his knuckles turned white.

Angel glanced around as the ship powered down again, plunging them into darkness. They could all hear the electricity sparking in the broken wires before ceasing as the power was cut throughout the whole ship, causing it to begin to tilt towards the planet they had been previously orbiting.

"Sir, we are two minutes from their location." Spock informed them as they lost all communication.

"We're going to be too late." Jim shook his head. Part of him knew that he wasn't able to help not arriving in time, but another part of him was kicking and screaming inside of his head saying that he should've tried harder.

"Sir, we have a visual." Spock told Jim as the bridge looked towards where the _Collateral_ was falling at an alarming rate.

The whole bridge went quiet as they watched the disaster unfolding before their eyes as they sat there, unable to do anything. Jim raked his hair back as they watched the _Collateral_ collide into planet, sending up a cloud of fire, debris and smoke into the atmosphere. He leant back in his chair as the rest of the bridge watched on, some of them turning away at the sight of it all.

"Should we prepare a search party, sir?" Spock broke the silence and tension on the bridge, his even tone causing everyone to turn to him.

Jim nodded. If anyone was alive, they needed to find them. "Yes. Try and find any survivors."


	11. Save My Blood

**Chapter Eleven: Save My Blood**

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** A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Over 80! It would be fantastic to get 90 for this, but please do your best to leave a review, it really helps motivate us!**

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Stell didn't know what her father had planned for the _Enterprise_ crew when they arrived, and she had the horrible suspicion that she didn't want to know. However, she had been keeping a close eye on things while they remembered in orbit above Kronos. So many questions were still on her mind. Why weren't they going anywhere? What was the purpose in staying near Kronos? What were Khan and the others planning? Why had he only woken two of the other Augments?

She had condemned herself to the possibility that she may never know all of the answers. Now, in the control room and checking the radar, she was astonished to see another ship was in proximity. Perhaps it was the _Enterprise_, or perhaps they had just sent another ship to retrieve her. Trying to suppress her nervous excitement, Stell picked up the com. Looking down at the screen, she saw that the frequency belonged to a ship called _U.S.S Armageddon._

"Hello? Can you hear me, _U.S.S Armageddon_? My name is Estelliana C…Noonien-Singh. I am Khan's daughter."

After a few moments of silence, a male voice replied. "Are you alone on the bridge, Miss Noonien-Singh?"

"I am," Stell admitted, glancing around. She still wasn't sure how she felt, other than that she knew she wasn't safe around Rin. He could not be trusted.

"Prepare to be beamed over," the male voice said.

Stell felt a thrill of anticipation, although her heart was tore in regards to her father. Should she just leave him alone here? She had the suspicion that his plans involved creating a war between Klingons and the Federation and then ruling over the ashes with the remainder of the Augments.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

On the _U.S.S Armageddon_, Captain Brice Vincent turned to his first officer. Once the _Enterprise_ had contacted Starfleet Command, the Admirals had suggested that the wisest option was to approach with caution and attempt to beam young Estelliana over when possible. However, Vincent had the suspicion that the Augment was not just an innocent seventeen-year-old girl. She was a member of a race of murderers and psychopaths, and he intended to expose that.

"Send the order for her to be beamed up and get Command on the line."

Vincent watched as the young girl's signal disappeared momentarily, before popping back up on their ship, indicating that Stell had been beamed over. Noticing that Admiral Sawyer was on the line, Vincent stepped in front of the screen.

"Captain Vincent, do you have something to report?" Sawyer inquired. Marcus's replacement was a man in his early fifties, and personally a man Vincent had never truly respected. However, he knew that he needed Command's permission for what he was about to do.

"We are in possession of the daughter of Khan," Vincent stated, pausing slightly before putting forth his request. "Permission to torture her for information concerning her father, sir?"

Sawyer's brow furrowed into a frown. "I was aware that the girl is a child of seventeen."

"She is, sir," Vincent replied, unperturbed. Age did not matter under these circumstances. He did not know Stell personally, but records spoke of her high intelligence and superb skills across several areas. As far as Vincent was concerned, Stell was the daughter of a murderer before she was a member of Starfleet.

"In what manner would you torture her?" Sawyer inquired, and Vincent realised that the Admiral was beginning to cave. Desperate times did call for desperate measures, after all.

"Nothing too severe," Vincent assured him.

"Very well." Sawyer sighed heavily, clearly not relishing this. "Permission granted."

Vincent cut the transmission and walked down to where Stell was waiting for him. She looked younger than he'd expected, and she was her father's image, with the exception of her dark jade-green eyes. She offered him a warm smile and held out her hand for him to shake.

"Captain. Thank you for your assistance."

"You are most welcome," Vincent stated, noting how firm the girl's grip was.

"I don't mean to inconvenience you." Stell bit her lip. "I wish to return to the _Enterprise_ as soon as possible."

"When they are within range, you may," Vincent replied smoothly, the lie coming easily. Many would flinch at the thought of harming a young girl, but that was because they forgot the important detail that Stell was in fact an Augment.

"Thank you, Captain…?"

"Vincent. Brice Vincent." He strode down the corridor towards the residential quarters of the ship. It suddenly struck him how small she was, perhaps only a few inches over five feet. She appeared to be an easy target, yet he knew better than to let her appearance deceive him. "How are you feeling? No injuries were sustained from your father?"

Stell frowned, looking up at him. "Why would my own father hurt me?"

"He is not a kind man," Vincent stated bluntly. It would not surprise him in the least if Khan had used some sort of violence against the girl, even though she was his own daughter.

"But I am his child," Stell reminded him, her tone becoming steely. "He would kill anyone who hurt me."

* * *

Jim glanced around as he got out of the shuttle when it reached the surface. He glanced over his shoulder at Spock, who had followed him out along with Bones. Smoke was still rising up from the ruins and twisted pieces of metal were scattered around the three of them. Spock walked off in an opposite direction to Jim, while Bones stayed near the shuttle, all three of them looking for any signs of survivors.

Angel coughed as she began to regain consciousness. She sucked in a breath as her whole body throbbed with pain. She shifted awkwardly; wincing as she felt the metal beam that was lying across her back, dig into her skin. She moaned in pain, every breath more painful then the last as she gasped for breath coughing violently, spitting out blood onto the ground, its metallic taste remaining in her mouth. She shifted again, trying feebly to push the beam off to free herself.

Jim glanced around as he heard someone coughing, watching as Spock moved off in the other direction, both of them searching for any survivors. He looked to his left when he heard someone coughing again, moving towards the sound. Upon seeing Angel, he recognised her almost immediately, hurrying over to her and hauling the beam off of her.

Angel glanced up at the person who had hauled the beam off her, relief flooding through her when she realised that it was Jim. "I have never been happier to see you in my life."

"Are you alright? Okay...dumb question." Jim mumbled more to himself then Angel, mentally hitting himself.

Angel took a deep breath, still struggling to breathe properly, as well as feeling a white-hot pain searing through her left leg. "I can't move my leg and my ribs are killing me."

Jim leant down beside her, picking her up gently, cringing when she let out a small cry of pain, biting her lip. "Shit, I'm sorry."

Angel gripped onto him tightly, her nails digging in as he began to move towards the others. Every movement sent more pain through her body, making it hard for her to regulate her already difficult breathing. As they approached the others, who were still picking through the wreckage, Jim called out to them, resulting in both Bones and Spock hurrying over.

"Is she the only survivor?" Spock questioned, knowing that some of the others had found a small umber of survivors.

Jim nodded, wincing as Angel's nails dug into his arm. "The only one that I've found."

Spock turned to face Bones who had followed him over, "Can you examine her before you get back on the ship?"

"Put her down for a minute, Jim." Bones told him, grabbing his medical kit.

"Sorry." Jim apologised as Angel whimpered in pain as he gently set her down.

Bones knelt down beside her, pulling out one of his scanners, frowning as she began coughing again. As he ran the scanner over her, he glanced at the small screen that was presenting the information retrieved, making a note of her injuries. He checked her vitals, noting that her breathing was irregular due to the damage that she'd received to her ribs.

"You have a few broken ribs and a knee fracture." Bones told Angel who nodded, beginning to fade in and out of consciousness.

"We need to get her back to the ship." Bones told the other two as he noticed the blood Angel had been coughing up.

"Angel, do you know why the Armageddon left?" Jim questioned, kneeling beside her.

Angel nodded, trying to keep her eyes open. "Stell..."

"They picked up Stell?" Jim shook her slightly, trying to keep her awake long enough to obtain an answer. They needed to know what was going on.

Angel nodded before she passed out completely.

* * *

Stell was in her room quietly braiding her hair when Vincent strode into the room. She looked up, immediately assuming that he came bearing answers. However there was something slightly off, something she couldn't quite place.

"Captain." She pushed herself to her feet. "Have you been in contact with the Enterprise?"

"Yes, but they are currently responding to a distress call." Vincent appraised the girl carefully. She was watching him with a certain wariness which made him certain that she must know something. The innocent little girl act would have to end.

"Can I help you, Captain?"

"You can give me information about your father's plans." Vincent folded his arms over his chest and Stell regarded even more critically. She had the distinct feeling that this Starfleet captain was nothing like Jim Kirk. He exuded coldness.

"I don't think it's wise for me to talk about them," Stell stated cautiously, watching as Vincent moved closer towards her. "I will discuss my father with Jim Kirk."

Vincent curled his hand into a fist and punched her across the face, causing the dark-haired girl to stagger and touch her cheek. Yet there was a darkness gathering in those green eyes of hers, her jaw clenching as she realised that he sought to make an enemy of her.

"Tell me," he insisted.

"There is nothing to tell," Stell hissed through gritted teeth. Khan hadn't told her anything, but she doubted this Vincent would believe her. He struck her again, but Stell retaliated in turn, backhanding him with enough force to send him to the ground. She clamped a hand over her mouth, astounded at the sheer power coursing through her veins. Vincent was at least six feet tall and not a thin man, yet one hit had sent him flying.

Vincent shoved himself to his feet, his booted foot slamming into Stell's stomach. The stupid little Augment bitch thought that she could best him, but she was so very wrong. When she doubled over in pain, he tossed her into a chair and cuffed her wrists to the metal arms, hitting her when she struggled.

"Now, tell me what you know."

"They will never let you get away with this," Stell snarled at him.

"Who won't?" Vincent raised his eyebrows. "Command? They already know."

"Nothing." Stell closed her eyes in resignation, knowing that nothing she said would satisfy Vincent. "I know nothing."

"Tell me!" Vincent snarled impatiently, his fist colliding with her face and causing her to spit out blood. She was certainly more resolute than he'd expected. Stell stared up at him with hatred in her eyes, a mocking smile twisting her lips.

"That really isn't getting you anywhere."

"You wait," Vincent promised darkly, stalking towards the door. "I'll be back."


End file.
